The Cannabis Industry: The Legalization Of Marijuana
The cannabis industry at present resides in two worlds. One world is made of those familiar with the industry: consumers, business owners, cultivators and investors. This first group is the market that generated $2.7 billion U.S. sales in 2014, a 74% growth from the previous year. The second world are mainstream Americans, who have been messaged since a young age that marijuana is a dangerous drug that leads to addiction, abuse, and ruined lives.
Most of what I write will not be news to group one. I am preaching to the choir to some degree. For instance, if I were to share that cannabis has been around for thousands of years as a commercial and medicinal product, group one would nod knowingly and group two would cover their ears while shaking
their heads. Some people can’t be helped.
In 1997 a hemp rope dating back to 26,900 B.C. was discovered in Czechoslovakia, making it the oldest known object to be associated with cannabis. The plant has been around a long time. Weeds tend to be resilient. This particular weed has a number of unique properties, not the least of which is its potentially psychoactive properties when ingested. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is the compound in marijuana that gets you high. But THC can also do things like relieve pain, nausea and depression, among others.
Do you know anyone who has endured chemotherapy? Know anyone who eased their symptoms with THC? My money says you do and you may not even know it. It is no wonder twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medicinal use with more on the way.
It is also no wonder that recreational adult use cannabis laws are up for a vote in numerous states in 2016. If you think the existing $3 billion market is big, just wait. The cannabis economy is poised to be the largest, most explosive market in the U.S. since… sliced bread.
So to the people wagging their fingers at the more than 30 million cannabis consumers, prepare to have a shift in perspective. Because the cannabis economy is about to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for your local communities that will go toward improving infrastructure, building new schools, and providing social programs for the poor and elderly. Let’s just hope your legislators are ready for it, lest this opportunity go up in smoke.
Most of what I write will not be news to group one. I am preaching to the choir to some degree. For instance, if I were to share that cannabis has been around for thousands of years as a commercial and medicinal product, group one would nod knowingly and group two would cover their ears while shaking
their heads. Some people can’t be helped.
In 1997 a hemp rope dating back to 26,900 B.C. was discovered in Czechoslovakia, making it the oldest known object to be associated with cannabis. The plant has been around a long time. Weeds tend to be resilient. This particular weed has a number of unique properties, not the least of which is its potentially psychoactive properties when ingested. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is the compound in marijuana that gets you high. But THC can also do things like relieve pain, nausea and depression, among others.
Do you know anyone who has endured chemotherapy? Know anyone who eased their symptoms with THC? My money says you do and you may not even know it. It is no wonder twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medicinal use with more on the way.
It is also no wonder that recreational adult use cannabis laws are up for a vote in numerous states in 2016. If you think the existing $3 billion market is big, just wait. The cannabis economy is poised to be the largest, most explosive market in the U.S. since… sliced bread.
So to the people wagging their fingers at the more than 30 million cannabis consumers, prepare to have a shift in perspective. Because the cannabis economy is about to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for your local communities that will go toward improving infrastructure, building new schools, and providing social programs for the poor and elderly. Let’s just hope your legislators are ready for it, lest this opportunity go up in smoke.