Cannabis – the Good, Bad and Ugly

Different kinds of good, bad and ugly are showing up within the cannabis industry. Everything from ‘good’ access to ‘ugly’ inequities in industry business ownership to ‘bad’ players gaming the system to, well, you name it.

Perspective and Opportunities

When we look at the good, bad and ugly from different perspectives we gain a deeper understanding of where the cannabis industry is and what the challenges and opportunities are going forward. Good: Access to Cannabis seems to lower opioid Deaths Researchers from Yale and the University of California, Davis published a study last week in The BMJ showing that access to legal cannabis stores in the US was found to be associated with a reduction in opioid-related deaths. The study found a particular link between access to cannabis stores and deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

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Good: Cannabis is a growth driver in Canada

Cannabis emerged as a growth driver, contributing $8.26 billion to Canada’s economy as of July while accounting for 9,200 people currently working in the sector, according to Statistics Canada. Legalization also opened the door for research funds to fine-tune how the cannabis plant’s various cannabinoids can be used to treat pain, anxiety, and cancer, among other ailments.

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Bad: Frequent Use as a Youth isn’t Good

When you dig into the research about chronic use among pre-teens and teens (up to young adults, you’ll find continued discussions about the negative impact cannabis use has, which is, frankly, to be expected. Just like with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, excessive use starting young tends to lead to addiction, behavior and life issues later on.

Ugly: Cannabis Stocks and Entrepreneurial Access

The only stock market currently supporting cannabis stocks is TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) and, based on a BNN Bloomberg story in October 2019 (after 1 full year of legalization), cannabis stocks took a bashing. On top of this, in both the Canadian and US cannabis markets, cannabis dispensaries are disproportionately owned and operated by whites. According to Marijuana Business Daily, approximately 81 percent of cannabis business owners or founders are white, while only 4 percent are African American. This begs the questions: Why are there so few African Americans in the cannabis space? What is it that's keeping them out of the industry, and how can they succeed ever in this changing environment?

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What Does it All Mean for Cannabis?

Different types of Good, Bad and Ugly mean there will be different solutions. Many of them fall back to education, social justice and economic issues which won’t change over-night but which are in the process of changing.

What To Do

If you’re interested in learning more about cannabis, cannabis production and the cannabis industry, come on with Happy Travelers Tours and get up-close-and-personal with cannabis.