Illinois’s marijuana market seems to be rebounding after a couple of months of lagging sales, with officials reporting on Monday that the state saw nearly $131 million in legal recreational cannabis purchases last month. That’s the second-highest recorded sales month for adult-use marijuana since the industry opened in 2020. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) reported that there were almost $90.4 million in adult-use cannabis sales from in-state consumers last month, while about $40.6 million came from out-of-state visitors. A total of 3,007,699 individual marijuana items were sold in March. The totals don’t include medical cannabis products, which are reported separately by a different state agency. While Illinois broke its yearly record for cannabis sales in 2021—with more than $1.4 billion in cannabis sold last year—marijuana purchases dipped in January and February, following the December 2021 record-high of $137,896,859. From last year’s sales, Illinois generated almost $100 million more in tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales than from alcohol in 2021, state data found. It’s unclear what factors may have contributed to the dip at the beginning of this year, or the rebound in March.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 04/05/2022 08:49:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/illinois-marijuana-sales-rebound-in-march-reaching-131-million-state-officials-report/

The last two years haven’t been great for the CBD industry. The pandemic cratered in-store sales of CBD. Meanwhile, by choosing not to regulate CBD, the FDA left it in a legal gray area, limiting where it can be sold. If you need evidence of the industry’s decline, just look at Charlotte’s Web, the largest CBD company. In mid-2019, the company’s stock price was flying high at nearly $22. Since then, it’s fallen to just over $1 — a 95% decline. I believe there’s a way out of this mess, but most companies aren’t prepared, or willing, to see it. Let’s revisit the history of the industry to see why. In 2014, the federal farm bill passed, and the hemp industry was reborn. Positive feedback from consumers helped CBD quickly become a craze. It was a product that could help a lot of people and offer an effective, natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs for a variety of conditions. Investors jumped in—betting on large industry growth—and the largest companies quickly went public (which creates the expectation of more growth). These companies ran the traditional CPG playbook, adding CBD to dog treats, seltzer and everything else under the sun. They focused on selling more to the consumer, not adding value. Thanks to declining sales, large companies are burning cash and goodwill with their investors. They’re banking on a federal bailout: that the FDA will formally regulate CBD, thereby allowing them to peddle their premium products into larger retail channels.

Benzinga Staff Writer, The Fresh Toast, 04/04/2022 10:00:00

Open article: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabusiness/cbd-is-expensive-how-the-industry-can-re-think-its-pricing-for-consumers/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cbd-is-expensive-how-the-industry-can-re-think-its-pricing-for-consumers