Marijuana Policy Group Archives - Green Market Report

William SumnerSeptember 21, 2018

What kind of effect does adult use cannabis have on the medical market? The answer may surprise you. At the Green Market Summit, where some of the cannabis industry’s most prominent thought leaders were gathered, a discussion panel was held on the unforeseen consequences of legalizing adult use cannabis on the medical market. The following report “The Economics of Adult Use Marijuana on Medical Marijuana” was issued as a result of the panel members.

Moderated by Marijuana Policy Group co-founder Adam Orens, the discussion included Emily Paxhia, Founding Partner & Managing Director at Poseidon Asset Management; Jeannette Ward Horton, Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications at MJ Freeway; and Jessica Billingsley, CEO and Co-Founder of MJ Freeway.

Distinguishing this panel from all the other was the fact that it was the only all-female panel at the event. Although the panelists mused that someday such a panel would neither be significant or out of the ordinary, the audience reacted to the observation of the all-female panel with approval and applause.

Starting off the conversation, the panelists discussed the pre-adult use medical market and many of the early predictions of what would happen when adult use cannabis sales became legal. Although some predicted that the medical market would remain static, others, like MJ Freeway, predicted that the market would take a dip; which is precisely what happened. According to Paxhia, it was easy to see why.

“Living in San Francisco, some of those [cannabis] clinics, I felt like I was going to get sick from going in there,” recalled Paxhia. “I think there’s a number of reasons why people for a long time side-stepped getting medical cards. Once it became adult use, there were some very ready purchasers.”

As the adult use market began to mature in Colorado, Washington, and other states; the consensus became that adult use of cannabis would always kill the medical market. However, looking at the data, Horton and her partners discovered that after 12 months of legalization, the medical market actually grew by 45% while the adult use market only increased by 38%.

“People think the medical market is dead. Recreational shows up, people aren’t investing in those products, they’re not developing IP around those products, and they should be,” said Horton. “There’s a real medical market, and there are real medical patients, and that’s an opportunity I think people aren’t spending time on.”

Closing out the event, the panelists speculated on the future of the medical cannabis market and whether or not both the medical and adult use market would eventually fade away into just one unified cannabis market. Although it is a possibility, Billingsley was skeptical, stating that there would always be a need for medical cannabis.

“There will always be medical conditions that need a medical product that has some true efficacy for that condition,” said Billingsley. “It is a recreational substance, but it also has a truly efficacious benefit on the medical side.”

Stay tuned to find out more about happened at the Green Market Summit, as the Green Market Report gives you an in-depth look at the event throughout the week. Click here to read the previous recaps on cannabis banking, international cannabis, and an exclusive interview between legendary financial analyst Jim Cramer and The Green Organic Dutchman CEO Brian Athaide.

Jack SmithAugust 3, 2018

Despite initial fears that Colorado’s regulated marijuana market might only fulfill part of the demand from consumers, a new study shows those fears are overblown.

The study, produced by The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR)’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, shows that in 2017, the regulated market was able to meet both resident and visitor demand for cannabis. That compares to 2014, when only 65 percent of consumption came from the regulated market. The new data shows that consumers are moving from marijuana flower, towards concentrates, which highlights a competitive market.

“This update improves upon the original 2014 market study methods and uses official market data to provide an updated insight to and assessment of Colorado’s regulated marijuana markets through 2017,” said Mike Hartman, DOR executive director in a statement provided to Green Market Report.

Hartman added: “This report gives me comfort that the licensed, regulated commercial marketplace is working well and is part of the state’s continuous effort to monitor a comprehensive marijuana regulatory framework, improve transparency and use data to inform the public about Colorado’s marketplace.”

In 2017, 340.7 metric tons of flower were regulated in the state. 301.7 metric tons went towards sales to consumer, while 34 metric tons went towards inventory and the remaining 6 were for residual marijuana.

The Colorado market continues to be a competitive and diverse area for consumers, with no one company dominating the market. The DOR report actually noted that the 10 largest operators in the state saw a decline in market share, coming in at 23.1 percent in 2017, down from 25.4 percent in 2016 and 26.6 percent in 2015.

Prices are also coming down, as the market remains extraordinarily competitive. Marijuana flower prices have “declined slowly,” according to the DOR, while the price of a standard serving of THC has “declined more rapidly.”

Though pricing trends are largely coming down, there are still some variances in different parts of the state. In mountain and border towns, consumers will pay between $8.30 and $11.75 per gram for flower, compared to $5.79 per gram for the average.

In 2017, flower comprised 61.8 percent of the market, while concentrate made up 27.3 percent, trim accounted for 5.9 percent, with infused edibles and infused non-edibles accounting for 4.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Other highlights from the study include Colorado’s attitude towards using technology to make it easier to respond to ever-changing consumer needs, while also keeping up with regulations.

“Colorado is the first state to use inventory tracking data to understand market dynamics; the first to use flower equivalent measures; and the first to compare supply, demand, and consumption to monitor regulatory performance,” Adam Orens, Founding Partner of Marijuana Policy Group, said in a release accompanying the study.

Orens added that the findings are important to show that the cannabis market can be regulated effectively and is a sign of the “evolution of regulated cannabis markets – where governments are monitoring market data and adjusting policy accordingly.”