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A new financial analysis of the medical marijuana industry by See Change Strategy, LLC, found that the market for marijuana is now $1.7 billion and likely to double in the next five years. From Medical Marijuana Markets:
The report draws on more than 300 survey responses and dozens of interviews with market participants and resulted in the following findings:
- 24.8 million people are eligible to receive a recommendation and purchase marijuana legally under state laws, and approximately 730,000 people actually do.
- Medical marijuana markets exist in seven states (California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico) and will open this year in five more (Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia).
- Current marijuana markets will double in the next five years. The two major drivers of growth will be patient access (the number of legal patients will rise) and regulatory clarity (states will adopt regulation and license processes that facilitate the sale of medical marijuana).
I suspect the medical marijuana industry, thanks to its fast growth, is approaching an important financial tipping point as it becomes legal in more states. At a certain size, it will have enough employees, related businesses who depend on it, and governments who rely on its tax revenue that it will become integral in the greater economic web. As a result, it will start gaining political clout as it becomes better able to directly lobby for its interests and becomes more important to the overall economy. Effectively, the industry will be increasingly “legitimated,” mainly because the political system won’t be able to afford not to.
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Holy Smokes! Now how about that decriminalization? Check out what this commentator from Idaho who many are starting to follow from her exposure on a macroeconomic blog and what she has to say about cannabis (start at time point 2:10).
and thus being taken over by PhRMA.
Recall Sativex® from GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (GWP:London) discussed here? Meanwhile it has been approved in the UK and Spain. Their stock spiked at July 2010, plunged Nov 2010 (around the time of the cannabis initiative passing Arizona), rose but has been trending down (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Mar. 23, 2011).
BTW, there is a model for what I suggest.
I’ve not tracked this down with links, so consider it hearsay, but it seems reasonable on first principles.
Raw (unpasturized) honey has long been known to have strong medical benefits. It never spoils bc bacteria can’t live in it, and has been used since ancient times as a salve for wounds.
One of the PhRMA corps finally latched onto how cheap it would be to get their particular license to use it exclusively. So they got it (not sure if it is a patent or exactly what the legal justification is, nor which particular corp). In any event, the corp is producing it in NZ, for sale in the U.S. and will eventually, after spending billions on marketing, earn a gagillion of profits.
Meanwhile local honey producers are a cottage industry without the financial wherewithal to rip off consumers.
I live in Louisiana. I don’t have a prescription but I can get medical marijuana. Or I could if I could afford it. Us poor people will continue to smoke Mexican because it’s cheap.
If marijuana were decriminalized I could grow pot just as good as the best Medical. That would put them out of business. And the Mexicans too. I really don’t like where this is going. Expensive legal pot for folks who can pay for it. And the same old illegal black market for the rest of us.
Decriminalization is best but legalization could be an improvement if it was done right. I used to think medical was the camels nose. I’m beginning to see it more like the thalidomide baby of drug policies. Remember, that shit is only sorta legal. Its still open season on smokers as far as the feds are concerned.
{ A round of mango lassis for the mo_devatas. It’s a good digestive and high in iodine. This one has a bit of spiciness to it from a dash of ginger. }
Meanwhile, in California, most of the local cities and counties are trying extremely hard to either outlaw the sale of cannabis in dispensaries. Threats of DEA raids are again rearing their heads (probably with the 2012 election coming up and the assumption that Big O’s admin isn’t going to do anything at all before the election, pot being the third-rail and all…)
It’s back to the future.
And half the people I know that are ‘medical’ users are walking around in a fog of habitual use. The other half are split between moderate lifestyle users and actual medical users.
I think it’s a mess around here, but what the heck, what isn’t?
People seem to not of heard of the new DOJ Memo on Medical Marijuana. It is understandable since there was no fanfare and the press release wasn’t widely seen at the time. The Memo is being called the Haag Memo, named after the asst atty gen. in Ca. if the same name.
Just last week there was 2 dispensaries in Los Angeles and and another 20 or so busts in Mt. AAG Haag is in charge of the area surrounding and including the San Fan and Oakland cities. I’m pretty sure what finally prompted the new memo was/is all the talk about opening major factory size grows with the blessings of the local officals. If, The BIG IF is can or will Pres. Obama be willing and able to allow those floodgates to open. To not bust such a in-your-face type publicly known operations is nothing short of sanctioning Medical Marijuana commercially. Just yesterday or the day before Pres. Obama told the press/tv that he saw it as a public health and criminal issue, not one bit is he interested in legalization. His mind is rusted shut on this issue the myth fades away.
More from the Memo,
link to pdf of memo http://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/legal/feds/doj.haag.memo.pdf
The War on Drugs and People is far from over. Just as we are watching in the Middle East, when people begin to rise up the authorities move to tighten thing down, not throw open the gates willingly.
Shouldn’t the state and Federal officials who conspired to prevent this and other critically ill patients from getting their medicine be charged with murder? How can prosecutors avoid charging them with murder?
People think that those that use mj are unproductive, lazy and “in a fog.” I’ve been smoking for over 40 years. Always had a good job until I became “old.” Once you have been classified as old, your working life is over. It does not matter if you can do the job or not. The most productive people I have met in my life have been pot smokers. That applies in particular to people who’s job it is to create things and ideas.
It is time for the government to give the people what they want and what they want is for the rich to get there asses taxed off and get a more equitable distribution of the wealth. It’s one thing to be wealthy, but give me a fucking break.
Another 180 by Obama. Useless, dangerous, spineless corporatist Fascist.