Marijuana Business Magazine - January 2017

¬NDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS National & ¬nternational News Developments What’s Happening: Sessions Confirms Status Quo on Marijuana Policy – for Now Despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decidedly anti- marijuana statements since he took over the U.S. Department of Justice, it appears cannabis busi- nesses are safe from his agency for the time being. Asked during a congressional committee hearing about the DOJ’s policy on the marijuana industry, Sessions replied: “Our policy is the same really, fundamentally, as the (Obama) policy, which is that the federal law remains in effect and a state can legalize marijuana for its law enforcement purposes, but it still remains illegal with regard to federal purposes.” In other words, Sessions hasn’t yet decided to tear up the 2013 Cole Memo, which was issued by the Obama adminis- tration and laid the groundwork for the current U.S. recreational marijuana industry. Canada’s Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Major Hurdle, Heads to Senate Canada’s House of Commons gave final approval to legislation legalizing recreational cannabis, send- ing the measure to the Senate for its consideration. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government com- promised on key parts of the legislation, ditching a rule that limited home plants to under 39 inches and requiring legislation for marijuana edibles and concentrates be brought forward within a year. The bill faces a potentially rough ride in the une- lected Senate, where members appointed by liberal and conservative prime ministers have openly mulled whether the July 1 deadline to legalize recreational marijuana is attainable. Senators have the ability to hold up and revise legislation but rarely reject it. Report: International Cannabis Market Will Surpass $31 Billion The international legal marijuana market will reach $31.4 billion by 2021, according to a study by the Brightfield Group, a cannabis market research firm. It came on the heels of another major international cannabis report released this past fall. In the earlier report, London-based Prohibition Partners published its own research estimating that Europe’s medical and recreational markets could com- bine for close to $67 billion in a few years. The Brightfield study estimates that the global market is currently worth $7.7 billion but will see a compound annual growth rate of 60% as more nations launch legalized medical and recreational programs. The United States is now responsible for 90% of global cannabis sales, but that market share will plummet by more than a third, to 57% by 2021, according to Brightfield’s report. Justin Trudeau 18 • Marijuana Business Magazine • January 2018