Business
Who Is Buying All the Weed in America?
$25 Billion in cannabis sales but who is smoking it all?
A few decades ago, it seemed like this present period of acceptance for marijuana and marijuana users would never. So strong was the war on the use of marijuana in those days that different unfounded fears were instilled in many and passed on to others. Fortunately, a paradigm shift has occurred and we are gradually leaving the era of prohibition for the era of legalisation. Many states are legalizing the use of marijuana both for medicinal and recreational use despite the federal government still classifying it as a Schedule 1 drug. This has further increased the demography of people smoking weed in the US substantially over the years with more to follow.
While many are already on the train for marijuana legalisation and acceptance, there are still others that are a bit apprehensive about it. This is because most of these people have held on to stereotypic views about cannabis users as stoners who are addicted and looking for their next fix. The best way to change this perspective will be to show the true picture of what cannabis is in the US presently. It will also be helpful to give an in-depth analysis of who is smoking weed in the US presently. We will be taking a breakdown across different demographic groups to show the extent of the acceptance.
According to data collated by Gallup in July 2022, 16% of Americans say they smoke marijuana. This figure is an upgrade from the range of 12 to 13% that was actively recorded between 2016 and 2021. This shows that there has been a consistent increase in the number of active cannabis users over the past 5 years. This effect can be attributed to the increased awareness about the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Likewise, the 2020 pandemic also contributed to this increase as many resorted to the use of marijuana for calm amidst the fears of the lockdown. This percentage of users cuts across different types of people in the country.
More females are getting in on the act
The general belief has always been that most cannabis users are ragged males or stoners washed up in an alley or basement. This cannot be farther from the truth. An in-depth look into the data collated by Gallup shows that 18 percent of men and 14 percent of women in the US smoke marijuana. This is a figure considering where we’re coming from.
A special subset of the women gradually increasing these figures are the Gen Z women. This encompasses women born in 1997 or later and the use of marijuana is surging among this subgroup of women. A report by NBC news shows that the year-over-year sales of cannabis for Gen Z women surged by 151% in 2020. This is the highest for any cohort recorded within that period. It would seem that the future of cannabis is female as stated by Bethany Gomez, the managing director at Brightfield Group. The conduciveness and ease of procuring marijuana from cannabis dispensaries and the increase in interest in using marijuana to treat anxiety and depression is sure to increase these figures.
Age is becoming less of a barrier
Cannabis has always been quite popular among the youth, it’s the baby boomers that have been known to pose a bit of resistance. The results from the data show that 30 percent of persons aged between 18 and 34 use marijuana whereas 16 percent of persons aged between 35 and 54 use marijuana. Persons aged 55 and above are also represented as 7 percent of the population are recorded as marijuana users. These statistics are encouraging as it shows that more millennials are getting in on the act and not just leaving it to the Gen Z alone. While many may be quick to say the number of those ages 55 and above is low, it must be remembered that just 10 years ago, the value stood at 0.4 percent. This can only mean that the societal view about cannabis and cannabis users amidst this group is reducing gradually
Democrats lead the pack while Independents and Republicans follow closely
The Gallup poll also sought the political tendencies of the respondents to help give a picture of what the use of cannabis looks like across political lines. As expected, Democrats lead the line for cannabis users as 20% use cannabis, Independents are next with 17% while Republicans also have a good representation with 14%. Democrats have always been known to be sympathetic to the use of marijuana generally and this is more evident as President Biden recently granted pardons to those convicted of offences relating to marijuana possession. Republicans are also getting in on the act and this can mean that one can expect some of their votes when it comes to legalisation and voting.
Education is not a limitation
For those that are still classifying all cannabis users as high school dropouts with sedentary lifestyles, they cannot be more wrong. The Gallup poll shows that 12% of college graduates smoke cannabis whereas 18% of those who are not college graduates enjoy the benefits of cannabis. This data helps to defeat the view held by some people that cannabis users suffer from a lack of motivation and easily lose sight of their goals and ambitions. Therefore, it is safe to say that educational status is becoming less of a barrier to the proliferation of marijuana use as time goes by.
Bottom line
Cannabis has found a place to stay in the US and it is not going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. The breakdown of cannabis users in the US shows that almost every demography is getting in on the act and enjoying the goodness of the natural product. The increase in its medicinal use is also to be thanked for the acceptance of the herb as received across all quarters and that acceptance is only expected to increase as time goes by.
Source: https://cannabis.net/blog/news/who-is-buying-all-the-weed-in-america
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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