The industry weathered COVID-19 well thanks in part to dispensaries being declared essential by so many states.
With so many big fights brewing between the two parties, will we see any national legislation before 2021 ends? How will consumers feel about weed in a post-pandemic world with a buffet of other options – things to do, places to go, food to eat.
Maintaining those changes should be a top priority for the industry over the next six months, according to Morgan Fox, media relations director for the National Cannabis Industry Association.
“These were clear public health wins, but these services had previously been denied to cannabis businesses, despite the fact that they were available to basically all other legal businesses.
“And so it’s going to be incumbent on lawmakers and other policy makers and regulators, as well as the industry, to continue working on and building the positive interactions that they’ve had,” Fox said.
California, for example, is expected to have ended the month with $429 million in sales, up 9% from a year earlier.
“I think that the next six months we’re going to see continued growth, continued cannabis sales on the same trajectory that we saw last year, even in a post pandemic world,” said Cy Scott, co-founder and CEO of Headset.
“You can see retailers where they have a footprint in 10, 15 different regions, which is no easy feat because its different frameworks in every state.