Global Cannabis Sales Expected To Reach $105 Billion In 2026

A new report entitled, “The Global Cannabis Report: Second Edition” has revealed promising statistics of what experts predict about the cannabis industry post-pandemic.

The report states that in 2021, the cannabis industry was able to bounce back after the pandemic struck in 2020. There were record-breaking sales of recreational and medical use cannabis and several mergers and acquisitions plus several capital raises by notable companies. Last year, the global sales of all cannabis and CBD in the US reached $37.4 billion which could easily get to $105 billion in 2026.

In addition, it states that the recreational markets in the United States and Canada are still the most important globally when it comes to marijuana sales. However, we can expect to keep an eye out for Israel, Germany, and Australia which are poised to develop well in the coming 5 years.

Fiji Makes Moves For Hemp Research

Fiji’s Minister of Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says that the Fijian government is working with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes to ensure that the island nation doesn’t get blacklisted and ensures that they follow the rules to cultivate industrial hemp correctly.

Before they start a public consultation, they want to ensure that they are following all the rules. One of the steps they are taking toward hemp research and cultivation is to draft a law, and once this has been done, they will consult the public, who will be able to share their feedback.

“We’ve looked at a number of issues, for example, what laws need to be changed, how they should be changed, what products actually grow well, and what type of hemp grows well in the industrial space. All those boxes need to be ticked off before we get into the space of providing some form of concrete framework to members of the public who can then comment on it,” said Sayed-Khaiyum, reports FBC News.

Cannabis Coffee Shops In Amsterdam Hit Hard By Pandemic

CNN Travel shares a report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Amsterdam’s famous coffee shops.

The absence of international tourists have resulted in serious financial blows to these businesses, as it was the travelers who contributed to most of the coffee shop revenues, they report. Even though these Dutch coffee shops did not have to close during the pandemic, since they were listed as essential services, those in the industry have a fear that they may have to close.

A worker at one of the coffee shops, nicknamed Nick, says: “For business it’s been devastating.” Before the pandemic, the coffee shop would typically be full with a vibrant atmosphere. Customers would socialize with one another as they smoke a joint. But during early February, the coffee shop only had one customer who was sipping coffee, smoking a joint, and working on a laptop. “In my coffee shop it’s been very empty and boring,” said Nick. “But other coffee shops outside the center are busier than ever due to takeaway demand. During coronavirus, everybody is sitting at home and smoking.”

More than half of Amsterdam’s 167 coffee shops are located in the city center, which makes them extremely dependent on tourism, explains the coffee shop owner association’s Joachim Helms. “The coffee shops in the center were really in survival mode during the past two years,” he explained. The government did provide some financial aid to help them survive though this was only enough for rent and staff salaries.

However, some coffee shops were able to benefit more from the takeaway business.  

Victoria Lawmaker Will Propose Drug Decriminalization Bill Despite Opposition

Fiona Patten, Leader of Reason Party, wants to make possession of illegal drugs a matter of education instead of crime. She intends to introduce a new bill that will soon arrive at state parliament, which will decriminalize all drugs even for dealers and users.

If the plan is approved, it will mean that anyone caught with a small possession of drugs, or even found to have used illegal drugs will instead be referred to a treatment or drug education program. The Victoria Police would also get involved with compliance. She explains that the drug policy reform will help treat addiction and save lives. “Current drug law is killing innocent people and causing untold other harm, wasting billions of taxpayers’ dollars, fueling organized crime, and squandering scarce health and law-enforcement resources, and the members of the Victorian parliament know it,” Patten said.

“That’s not an assertion, it’s a fact proved by domestic and international experience,” reports Triple M.

Patten has long been an advocate for reforming the war on drugs.

“Failure to make this change would be willfully ignorant to the point of negligent, because so many lives depend on it, and the quality of life of so many people and communities and families can so readily be improved through harm reduction.”

Colombia Gives Green Light For Using Cannabis In Food, Drink, and Textile

The Pledge Times reports that Colombian president Ivan Duque announced a new bill that would regulate the use of cannabis in food, drink, and textile while also allowing exportation of dried cannabis flower. Resolution 227 of 2022 was issued by the government, regulating licenses and quotas that are related to safe use of cannabis and its derivatives.

“This resolution allows, defines and establishes all the mechanisms and procedures for the industrial use of marijuana in sectors such as food, beverages and also textile uses, defining, of course, that these uses have to do with the non-psychoactive component,” Duque explained.

He adds that with the new regulation, the country will be “at the forefront of regulating the use of medical marijuana in Latin America and the Caribbean and, of course, its industrial uses.”

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