Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

16 Marijuana Business Factbook 2019 Chapter 1 | National Trends © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. The amount that a cannabis business pays for banking services largely depends on whether the financial institution is aware it is dealing with a marijuana company. Financial institutions may not be aware they’re serving the cannabis industry, as some marijuana businesses are able to get an account by providing a nondescript operating name to the bank or mischaracterizing the nature of the company in order to avoid any additional examination. While some banks certainly can be accused of gouging their cannabis clients, others simply charge rates that reflect the challenges of servicing the marijuana industry. Though monthly fees around $100 per month are about what a small business in the traditional economy would pay for a bank account, most cannabis companies will happily pay the extra costs, as it frees them from the headaches that stem from being unbanked. Among the many issues that the lack of banking services causes the cannabis industry, it’s a key driver of the lack of diversity in marijuana business ownership. Social equity has been a major component of recent marijuana legalization bills in Illinois and New York, for example, but without sufficient access to capital, such as low-interest business loans, economically challenged applicants remain at an extreme disadvantage relative to those with large networks of high-net-worth individuals. CHART 1.13: Nationwide MMJ Patient Counts: 2014-January 2020 Note: Includes known number of registered pa�ents and es�mates for states whose registries are voluntary or nonexistent. Source: 2019 Marijuana Business Factbook © 2019 Marijuana Business Daily, a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Na�onwide MMJ Pa�ent Counts: 2014 - January 2020 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Jan. 2020 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% % Growth Rate From Previous Year 49.9% 11.1% 7.6% 4.4% 3.3% Total MMJ Pa�ents % Growth Rate From Previous Year 50.0% Medical marijuana patient counts have grown steadily over the past few years, but in the first few months of 2019, the pace has accelerated dramatically. The drivers of patient growth come largely from two states: Florida and Oklahoma. Patient growth in Florida has been strong and sustained since the program was opened up in 2017 to allow full-strength MMJ. In 2019, the state removed restrictions on the sale of marijuana flower, licensed more businesses and finalized rules for the production of edibles, meaning patient growth is unlikely to slow anytime soon.