Legal Cannabis Market Continues to Grow Despite Federal Resistance
By FinancialBuzz.com | September 4, 2018
Data compiled by Arcview Market Research, in partnership with BDS Analytics, indicates that the United States' legal cannabis market is projected to reach USD 11 Billion in consumer spending during 2018 and exceed USD 23 Billion by 2022. The research shows that the industry has potential to generate more than 467,000 full-time equivalent jobs by 2022, and despite the current federal prohibitions that are in place, the U.S. legal cannabis industry experienced a 31 percent growth in 2017 to reach USD 8.5 Billion. For the near future, Arcview projects that the continuing state-by-state legalization of medical-use programs and the recreational use legalizations will bring nationwide spending in the U.S. to about USD 23.4 Billion by 2022 while growing at a 22 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the five-year forecast period.
While more and more states within the U.S. are pushing towards legalization, Canada passed a bill on June 19th, 2018, to legalize cannabis nationwide. A report by CNBC quotes MedMen CEO and Co-Founder, Adam Bierman, who explains the current state of the industry, "There is so much excitement now around legalization nationally coming in Canada. There is so much excitement about the fact that California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts all legalized recreational marijuana… The Canadian public markets offer access to a lot of capital, with a lot of certainty and a lot of speed, and there is this appetite among global investors to invest in a U.S. play. Specifically, global investors want to invest in a U.S. play that has California exposure. Now is the time where it makes the most sense."
Maricann Group Inc. also listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker (CSE: MARI). The company announced breaking cannabis news last week that, "it has entered into a non-binding term sheet to form a strategic joint venture with San Martino S.S. ("San Martino"), a large scale agricultural company in the Piedmont Region of Italy, founded by Milan businessman Umberto Signorini. Pursuant to the proposed joint venture Maricann and San Martino will develop a centre of excellence for cannabis products, in conjunction with the University of Eastern Piedmont, initially producing high CBD content for the medical market, and then ultimately THC product for the European market. The formation of the joint venture remains subject to due diligence and the negotiation and execution of definitive documentation.
Federico Riboldi, vice president, Province of Alessandria stated, "It is a true pleasure to see the start of the collaboration of Maricann with San Martino to develop a CBD and THC project here in Italy, specifically, Alessandria province. I think we have found the best combination of people to become the first CBD and THC company in Italy."
Umberto Signorini Jr. commented, "The partnership between Maricann and the Signorini Family to develop CBD products is very exciting. There are great opportunities for the cosmetic, alimentary, veterinary, pharmaceutical, and recreational sectors."
"We're proud to partner with San Martino and the Signorini family and have received unprecedented governmental support for the initiative. Our first mover advantage in cannabis from Canada has proffered the opportunity to work with established and respected groups in Europe, and now in Italy with San Martino. We will bring our world leading technology, developed in conjunction with Rockwell Automation to automate and standardize cannabis production and subsequent products, while gaining advantage from existing infrastructure in Piemonte, including biogas electricity produced from San Martino's facilities," stated Ben Ward, CEO of Maricann.
Aurora Cannabis Inc., headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with funded capacity in excess of 570,000 kg per year and sales and operations in 14 countries across five continents, is one of the world's largest and leading cannabis companies. Aurora Cannabis Inc. recently announced its commitment to advocating for the amnesty of cannabis possession offenses through a USD 50,000 contribution to the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty. The organization will use the funds to advocate for the expungement of criminal records for personal possession cannabis offences that will no longer be illegal after October 17th, 2018, and to educate Canadians about the injustices that currently exist as a result of the prohibition of cannabis.
"Aurora strongly believes that the negative socio-economic impact of maintaining criminal records for simple possession needs to be addressed urgently," said Jonathan Zaid, Aurora's director of advocacy and corporate social responsibility. "We look to the Canadian government to provide amnesty to these people, largely from marginalized communities, ensuring their broad exclusion from Canadian society is lifted. The work of the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty is making a very positive contribution towards this much-needed policy change. Even through there is still a lot of work to be done to encourage justice reform in this area, Aurora is proud to support organizations like Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty that are leading the way forward."
Organigram Holdings Inc. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Organigram Inc., is a licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in Canada. Organigram Holdings Inc., the parent company of Organigram Inc., recently announced that the Company has signed a supply agreement with Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) in anticipation of the launch of a legal, adult use recreational cannabis market in the province. "We are pleased to announce our supply agreement with NSLC," says Greg Engel, Organigram's CEO. "Our home markets have always been a key priority for Organigram and this announcement solidifies our position as the market leader here in the Maritimes. With supply arrangements in place in six provinces, we take great pride in our place as a national leader working towards a responsible, sustainable and successful adult-use recreational cannabis market."
Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. is a collective of entrepreneurs with a passion for the cannabis industry past, present and future. Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. recently announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with KGK Science Inc. to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of KGK for total consideration of USD 12,300,000 payable in cash and common shares of the Company. KGK is a health and wellness-focused private contract research organization based in London, Ontario, and the Company expects to leverage KGK's research abilities to further the Company's product development efforts through collaboration with the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Dosecann Inc.
MariMed Inc. is a multi-state professional cannabis organization that develops, owns and manages cannabis facilities and branded products lines. MariMed Inc. recently announced that it has signed an exclusive global licensing agreement with Vitiprints for the worldwide production and distribution rights in all existing and future legal cannabis markets. The agreement extends to all cannabis products made using Vitiprints' proprietary technology, including liquid ingredient formulation, printing process, and the resulting array of dissolvable products. "Our exclusive agreement with Vitiprints puts MariMed on the forefront of precision-dosed branded cannabis products and technology that will, above all, delight consumers with a revolutionary product category and experience," said Robert Fireman, MariMed CEO.
(Source: FinancialBuzz.com)
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