Legalization in the cannabis industry is continuing to change the way that we interact with marijuana on a daily basis. The market on cannabis is also changing at a rapid pace, coming together to help reshape the world of marijuana as we know it.
The past month has seen the cannabis market remain quite stable in terms of pricing and swings in such. The main catalyst to change in prices of cannabis stocks remain the speculative news aspect of the market. When new news comes into the space regarding legalization matters, stocks tend to follow an uptrend in pricing based on that speculation. The sector is continuing to consolidate itself as well following several mergers throughout the industry.
Investors began in the market by working towards the legalization of the substance, while making businesses in the industry secondary. After waiting for legalization throughout the U.S. in various states, many new businesses and chains have been popping up given how much easier it is now than ever before to do so. New cultivation technology and methods of production have also led to the highest yields ever recorded in the market, which is helping to continue the growth in the space. With these new methods of cultivation, more have been able to enter the market than ever before, as the barriers to entry are lower than ever.
There is currently an ongoing domestic battle for legislation in the U.S. as many lawmakers and government bodies are working to overturn the current state of prohibition of cannabis. Because of this, the Canadian legal market is continuing to dominate the space around the world.
The Canadian cannabis market is currently at a whopping $26.3 billion and is projected to go much higher in the near future. The Canadian market is also changing very quickly given the high possibility of legalizing recreational cannabis by the end of the summer this year. A report on the Canadian market states that “we think the cannabis industry will trade in-line with sectors such as alcohol, liquor, and spirits, implying that the current total market capitalization is very rich and potentially already included most of the upside. That’s why we think the sector will see another wave of consolidation, either through M&A or bankruptcy, similar to how the global tobacco industry consolidated over time.” Many in the industry are continuing to compare the cannabis market with that of alcohol and tobacco, but the future looks as though it could even brighter than those two.
The coffee chain known as Second Cup (OTC: SCUPF) recently stated that they may be getting into the cannabis industry by taking some of there current shops and turning the into cannabis stores. The hopes are high that hitting both points of these markets will help to continue growing the space on cannabis and changing the paradigm shift on something that is often considered to be very taboo. The only issue with this is that it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain a license throughout Canada given the legislation that depends on the province in the country. There are only a select few provinces that have allowed private retailing to occur within them, thus the prevailing issue.
The cannabis market has continued to amaze many as we move into the future of legal marijuana. The changing market is breaking down many barriers that people thought were never possible. Only time will tell how the combination of effective legislation and new technology will effectively be able to reshape the industry on cannabis as we know it today.
