The number of legal cannabis retailers has exploded in North America the last decade, but that hasn’t resulted in easier access for kids. 

That is the takeaway from newly published survey data that examined perceptions of cannabis among youth in Canada.

“Very little research has examined how perceptions of cannabis access among underage youth in Canada have changed since cannabis was legalized and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this paper examines the effect of the early and ongoing stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period on youth perceptions of cannabis access over time since the onset of the Cannabis Act in 2018 in a large sample of Canadian youth,” the researchers wrote in the introduction of the study, which was published this month in Archives of Public Health.

The authors of the study said that they “used both repeat cross-sectional data [T1 (n = 38,890), T2 (n = 24,109), and T3 (n = 22,795)] to examine overall trends in perceptions of cannabis access, and sequential cohort longitudinal data [n = 4,677 students linked from T1 to T3] to examine the differential changes in perceptions of cannabis access among students over time.”

“In the cross-sectional sample, the frequency of students reporting that cannabis was easy to access decreased by 26.7% from T1 (51.0%) to T3 (37.4%), although respondents who have used cannabis were more likely to report access was easy. In the longitudinal sample, perceptions of cannabis access being easy increased over time, especially among cannabis users. Perceived ease of access appears to have been slightly impeded during the initial pandemic period but rebounded during the ongoing pandemic period,” they wrote in their summary of the results.

In conclusion, the researchers said that although “the prevalence of youth reporting that cannabis is easy to access has declined since legalization and throughout the early and ongoing pandemic periods, a substantial number of underage youth continue to report that cannabis is easy to access,” which they said suggests “that there is an ongoing need for continued cannabis control efforts to address this issue.”

“While there has been a growing number of studies focused on examining changes in cannabis use among Canadian youth since the onset of the Cannabis Act, and more recently since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there appears to be a paucity of research dedicated to examining changes in youth perceptions of cannabis availability over the same period of time. In response, this study provides unique and novel evidence of how youth perceptions of cannabis access have changed since the onset of the Cannabis Act,” they said in their conclusion, as quoted by NORML, “Our data suggest that in our large samples of youth, perceptions of cannabis access as being easy has declined in prevalence since legalization and through the early and ongoing pandemic response period.”

The Cannabis Act in 2018 made Canada just the second country to legalize marijuana, following Uruguay, which legalized pot in 2013.

In the United States, legalization is a phenomenon that exists on the state and local level, as cannabis remains prohibited under federal law. 

But in states where adult-use cannabis has been made legal, there has been a similar trend as the one identified in the Canadian study.

A study last year found that recreational cannabis laws were not associated with a change in perception among marijuana among youth.

In the study, which was published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the researchers “aimed to discover whether children in states with [recreational cannabis laws] had decreased perception of risk from cannabis compared with children in states with illicit cannabis,” noting that as “more states pass recreational cannabis laws (RCLs) for adults, there is concern that increasing (and state-sanctioned) cannabis acceptance will result in a reduced perception of risk of harm from cannabis among children.”

The researchers said they “analyzed data from the multisite multistate Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study to determine how the perception of cannabis harm among children changes over time in states with and without [recreational cannabis laws].” 

“Using multilevel modeling, we assessed survey responses from children longitudinally across 3 years, adjusting for state-, family-, and participant-level clustering and child-level factors, including demographics (sex, race, and socioeconomic status), religiosity, and trait impulsivity,” they said in their explanation of the methodology. 

The researchers said that there “was no significant main effect of state [recreational cannabis laws] on perceived risk of cannabis use, and no differences in change over time by state [recreational cannabis laws], even after controlling for demographic factors and other risk (e.g., impulsivity) and protective (e.g., religiosity) factors.” 

“This analysis indicates that state-level [recreational cannabis laws] are not associated with differential perception of cannabis risk among children, even after controlling for demographics, trait impulsivity, and religiosity,” they said. “Future studies could assess how perception of risk from cannabis changes as children and adolescents continue to mature in states with and without [recreational cannabis laws].”

The post Despite Widespread Legalization, Fewer Young People Find it ‘Easy’ To Get Pot appeared first on High Times.

The post Despite Widespread Legalization, Fewer Young People Find it ‘Easy’ To Get Pot appeared first on Paradise Found.

A new report projects that the global recreational marijuana market will nearly double over the next four years, with legal sales of adult-use cannabis climbing to almost $50 billion per year by 2027. The report, from U.K.-based cannabis data, media and tech company Prohibition Partners, credits global momentum in cannabis reform and the opening of new recreational cannabis markets in Europe over the next three years as the prime drivers of the industry’s worldwide growth.

“North America remains the global powerhouse of legal cannabis, with strong state-by-state growth, promising regulatory reform and international isolationism in the US, while Canada’s strong international presence but challenging domestic environment persists,” Prohibition Partners wrote in the introduction to the new Global Cannabis Report. “Europe continues to be a somewhat fragmented and heavily regulated business environment, seeing steady growth concentrated in key countries, incremental but important progress on adult-use legalization, and ongoing legal confusion over CBD.”

The report, which was released last week, forecasts that global annual sales of recreational cannabis will total approximately $49.7 billion by 2027, nearly double the current $24.9 billion. The growth in recreational cannabis sales will be largely driven by continued policy reform in the United States and Europe.

North America will remain the global leader in worldwide adult-use cannabis sales, according to the report’s projections. Canada legalized cannabis for adults in 2018 and now has about 3,000 retail cannabis shops across the country. Overall sales of cannabis in Canada currently approach CAD 6 billion (about $4.5 billion), with 93% of the total representing recreational cannabis sales and the remaining 7% coming from sales of medical marijuana.

In the U.S., cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, but 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 38 states have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis. Legal sales of cannabis in the U.S. totaled about $26 billion in 2022, including $17 billion in recreational cannabis sales and almost $9 billion in sales of medical marijuana. Total sales in the U.S. are expected to reach $33 billion by 2027. When unregulated sales of weed are included in the total, the report pegs the entire U.S. cannabis market at approximately $100 billion on an annual basis. 

Adult-Use Legalization Coming to Europe

In Europe, adult-use cannabis legalization is in its infancy, with Malta being the first country to legalize recreational marijuana, although only nonprofit cultivators and dispensers are currently allowed to operate in the Mediterranean island nation. Switzerland is currently conducting several recreational marijuana pilot programs, and the Netherlands has also pursued a research-based legalization plan. Germany is in the process of adopting an adult-use cannabis legalization plan, which could go into effect as early as next year.

Other regions of the world are also included in the expansion of the global cannabis market. Countries in Latin America and Africa are slowly moving toward becoming sources of supply for the growing global industry while keeping access for patients limited. Oceania continues to be a hotspot for growth in both imports and exports. The Asian market, however, remains “virtually untapped,” according to the report, with Thailand and Japan cited as notable exceptions.

Alex Khourdaji, senior analyst at Prohibition Partners and a co-author of the report, said that the worldwide cannabis industry made new strides over the past 12 months in both adult-use and medical markets and projected continued growth going into the new year.

“2023 has been a challenging but progressive year for the global cannabis industry. In Europe, we saw the first legal recreational cannabis sales with the pilot projects in Switzerland and the first recreational cannabis controlled supply chain sales in the Netherlands, as well as progress with Germany’s adult-use framework,” Khourdaji wrote in an email to High Times. “Globally, medical cannabis patient numbers have also been increasing.”

“In North America, the market continues to grow with US states such as Kentucky, Ohio and Minnesota opening their markets to either medical or recreational cannabis,” Khourdaji added. “We’ve also seen some progressive reform of cannabis policy globally, and advances in commercialization, setting solid foundations for a positive 2024 for the global cannabis industry.”

The post New Report Projects Global Recreational Cannabis Market To Nearly Double by 2027 appeared first on High Times.

The post New Report Projects Global Recreational Cannabis Market To Nearly Double by 2027 appeared first on Paradise Found.

With home grow on the rise and a growing understanding of cannabis genetics, the cannabis seed market is undergoing its glory days. Allied Market Research provides a report showing the growth backed by data gathered by its team of analysts, who focus on multiple markets.

The global cannabis seed market size was valued at $1.3 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $6.5 billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4% from 2022 to 2031, according to a new report published by Allied Market Research titled, “Cannabis Seeds Market.”

“The cannabis seeds market faced a period of short-term negative growth due to COVID-19 pandemic,” Allied Market Research representatives wrote. “Factors such as a decline in the product demand from major end-users, limited operations in most of the industries, inadequate funding to research and academic institutes, and disrupted supply chain has restricted the overall growth of the market during [the] pandemic period. However, [the] market is now slowly recovering from the negative impact and is expected to capture the growth momentum post 2022.

The Cannabaceae family of flowering plants includes the genus Cannabis, traditionally broken down to Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis, though some have dropped the sativa/indica terminology.

The cannabis seed market is divided into three categories: feminized, regular, and autoflowering seeds. The regular seeds segment dominates in terms of market size. 

The feminized seeds segment is also making an impact, growing at a moderate rate during the forecast period. Wild seeds grow at a 50/50 male-female rate. But feminized seeds are genetically modified using a handful of methods, designed to become only female plants. This has several advantages for growers, but the main one is that pollinating male plants won’t be able to devastate a crop and turn flower to seed. This helps facilitate growth and save a great deal of time and help farmers produce plants with clones.  

Autoflowering seeds contain ruderalis genetics crossed with potent strains to induce flowering regardless of light cycles, when normally plants do not flower until they receive a 12/12-hour lighting regime.

These tactics help growers tailor plants to their needs based on several outside factors.

In the report, distribution channels were classified as specialty stores, wholesalers and distributors, and online sales channels. Regional markets were analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA (Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.)

Wholesalers and distributors make up the lion’s share of distribution channel size. The specialty stores segment, however, exhibits the fastest-growing distribution channel. These are the stores that provide expert guidance and detailed product specifications.

Cannabis Seed Benefits

Beyond growing, the seed market also includes the supplement market.

The seeds are great sources of protein, fiber, and healthy fatty acids including omega-3s and omega-6s. They also have significant levels of gamma-linolenic acid and arginine—compounds that help treat chronic pain, lower the risk of heart disease, and help control neurological and other problems. 

They also contain calcium, potassium, vitamin E, sulphur, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc. Those who can’t consume nuts, gluten, lactose, or sugar, however, can eat them because they are high in vitamin E, Allied Market Research adds. The market for cannabis seeds is expanding as a result of the increasing cannabis seed market demand in both the medical and recreational markets.

Cannabis seeds also have been marketed to promote digestion, weight loss, and several other benefits, some of which have yet to be proven. As time rolls on, data will provide more insight into proven benefits.

To learn more about the cannabis seed market, read the full report here.

The post North America Dominates Seed Market, Report Indicates appeared first on High Times.

The post North America Dominates Seed Market, Report Indicates appeared first on Paradise Found.