Cannabis Market – State of the Industry
By: Hunter Fuchs
Everything in life changes at one point or another, but the cannabis industry can’t catch a break. As inflation continues to damper our efforts at saving, this industry is one of very few in the US where the sales price has not gone up. Market production came face to face with market demand, and for the first time ever there was an oversupply of marijuana in the United States. Although business may not be as lucrative as it once was, patient access is so much better and that’s a step in the right direction for cannabis.
We found ourselves in the middle of this unfortunate situation, and we were faced with the same challenges as the whole legal cannabis industry. Full Power Cannabis as well as almost every other producer has had to get creative to make ends meet. This meant changing from just a cultivation to entering retail as well with our dispensary, cutting costs everywhere we can, focusing more on branding, changing our ways of growing to be more affordable and more sustainable, learning the new ways that consumers shop for and use cannabis, amongst many other things.
The cannabis industry has always been referred to as a very profitable market, but as the United States continues to legalize cannabis the profits are dwindling. There once was a division between large corporate companies, small craft cannabis companies, and black-market growers but that division doesn’t have clear lines anymore. With the price per pound of flower dropping to an all-time low, poor enforcement in legal states like here in Oklahoma, and a massive influx of black-market cultivation facilities, many legal and compliant companies have been faced with the reality of shutting down. To top those challenges, the world faced a pandemic with COVID 19, political problems, war between Russia and the Ukraine, climate change, increased costs in every corner and many other adversities that have not been to benefit regular purchasing practices or cannabis.
We have analyzed the market to the best of our ability and are excited to grow with the market. In an rapidly changing market like this one there is a plethora of fresh statistics.
*91% of adults want to legalize weed.
*Cannabis sales to female customers increased by 55% in the last year.
*50% of users have increased consumption since the pandemic.
*50% of Americans now have access to legal recreational cannabis.
*74% of Americans have access to medical cannabis.
*Mergers and acquisitions of MSOs nearly doubled in 2021 and continue
*The cannabis industry now supports 450 thousand jobs
Marijuana use continues to climb, with 49% of American adults having tried reefer after all. Over 22% of Americans aged 18-25 have used marijuana in the last month according to a recent NIDA survey. Ordering and delivery are the newest ways of getting cannabis and seem to have taken off when COVID hit. Consumption continues to rise, and cannabis is finally becoming more of a mainstream norm. The market seems strong with these growth rates, the supply side of cannabis is pushing harder than the demand though, and access across the country is becoming more readily available as well as more affordable.
The future for the plant is bright, marijuana is steadily becoming a norm in America and cannabis is not going anywhere. Suppliers and processors continue to improve their recipes offering the best THC and terpene profiles in their flower, edibles, vapes, hash, rosin, BHO, tinctures and other products. Edibles have changed a lot in the last year with newer nano technology and solventless processing, making them easier to ingest, digest, and process with a faster onset than a typical edible. Extracts are leaning more and more toward solventless as the public has been educated on extract methods that involve hydrocarbons like butane, propane, pentane, hexane, ethanol and other highly volatile compounds. Don’t get us wrong here, those solvents are all proper methods of making very clean and consumable extract if the process is completed correctly and the product passes lab tests. As solventless processors continue to inundate the market the price is dropping on rosin and other solventless products, and hydrocarbon extracts have stabilized in a marginally profitable area.
The cannabis market is fresh, very fresh, and it will continue to jump through hurdles as regulation changes. Fortunately, for cannabis operators we are slowly seeing signs of stabilization in the industry. We will continue to adjust and adapt to ever changing market conditions and continue to focus on getting our customers the most quality product at the best price. Before starting Full Power Industries and Full Power Cannabis we knew that in order to be successful in Oklahoma as well as any saturated market we would need to have the best quality, and that is what we strive for.