If you ask someone about cannabis, most often than not, they would probably think of a person smoking a joint or hitting a bong, surrounding themselves with clouds of smoke and chilling to smooth music.
This is a very common stereotype, but it seems that times are changing, according to a recent report, smoking cannabis is a dying trend.
Things have come a long way, since the early 1930’s, the US government have spent endless billions on propaganda against cannabis saying absurd things like marijuana fries your brain.
In 1992, only 25% of U.S. citizens supported cannabis legalization.
But now, according to a report published recently by Gallup, 64 percent of the population of the U.S. think that cannabis should be legal.
Olympians like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are using it, public officials say they support it, even mothers are admitting using it. Times have changed indeed.
Along with the change in time is the way cannabis is being consumed. Health-conscious marijuana consumers are increasing in numbers, and with that rise comes the demand for non-invasive ways to take cannabis.
A lot of alternatives are being offered in the market right now that the multi-billion cannabis industry is focusing on research and innovation on products that are seen as more socially acceptable than smoking.
In an interview with CBC News, Dooma Wendschuh, CEO and one of the founders of Province Brands, said that no one smokes cannabis anymore. He added that smoking has lost its appeal and it is “beverages are how we like to become altered“.
Province Brands is a company based in Belleville, Ontario, it bottles and markets marijuana-infused beers.
Cannabis edibles are also closing in the lead as the most profitable niche in the industry. Arcview Market Research’s data gathered from their study in 2017 showed that cannabis consumers in California alone spent roughly $180 million on food and beverages that have THC in it.
The state legalized the adult use of marijuana on the first day of 2018, shortly after, the market for the recreational use of cannabis exploded. As of this time, the edible cannabis market’s sales are up by about 20 percent.
The same goes in other states where the adult use and sale of cannabis-infused products are legal.
As a matter of fact, the increasing popularity of the market has caught on with such enthusiasm that it was included as one of the top food trends in the U.S. This development is impressive, if not strange, considering that cannabis and anything that is derived from the plant is still considered illegal by the federal government of the United States.
However, up north in Canada, which only needs one last push for the total nationwide legalization of cannabis, things are getting busy as businesses prepare for the demand of the new market.
One of the things they are preparing for is filling the need of the market to create more edible cannabis products to be made available to the consumers.
Deloitte, an audit company in the U.S. published their recent analysis that shows smokable cannabis in Canada will generate more than 5 billion Canadian dollars by next year. On the other hand, they forecast that the edibles market will reach 12 to 22 billion Canadian dollars by the time the sector is in full swing.
It is predicted that one of the most profitable items that will be available in the market are the cannabis-infused beers because most of the adult consumers, even those who haven’t tried cannabis yet will find drinking beer with friends or alone familiar.
Constellation Brands, the world’s third largest brewing firm, attests to the forecasts considering their recent actions. The company has spent several hundred of millions of dollars on an acquisition recently to be able to create a new line of beverages that will be infused with cannabis. They plan to distribute it throughout the stores in Canada soon after the total legalization of the substance.
Corona Beers is one of the beverage lines produced and marketed by the Constellation Brands.
Although it seems that the legalization of the adult use of cannabis is about to happen in Canada, the market for edibles have to wait a little bit longer. According to the industry, these products are not yet allowed in the dispensaries until 2019. But with the positive forecasts and great anticipation for this sector of the edibles market, the delay seems to be worth the wait.
What is your preferred method of consuming cannabis? Let us know in the comments below.
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