Tag: cbd

Cannabis Consumers Have 6 Archetypes, Says Euromonitor
The legal cannabis is expected to increase more than 200 percent by 2025. According to research by Euromonitor International, global market research company, the market will rise from $30 billion in 2020 to over $90 billion in 2025 as consumers increase their usage in diverse parts of their lives, according to Euromonitor International.
Shane MacGuill
In a recent white paper, Breaking Stereotypes: Getting to Know the Cannabis Consumer, Euromonitor explores six adult cannabis consumer archetypes making up the emerging legal cannabis consumer base in 2021. “Cannabis user profiling is also relevant for cannabis-adjacent FMCG industries as more global consumers have access to cannabinoid-infused products,” says Shane MacGuill, senior industry manager for Nicotine and Cannabis at Euromonitor. “Cannabinoid consumers report drinking less alcohol, smoking less and taking fewer consumer health products across markets.”
The report, lists the six archetypes as:

The Seasoned Consumer: Long time regular consumers who use cannabis to enhance their well-being. 24% of these consumers suffer from high or extreme stress while 64% are strongly in favour of recreational legalization.

The Casual Social: Younger, newer consumers leveraging cannabinoid products as part of their wider lifestyles. 75% of them take vitamins or health supplements at least monthly, while 61% are strongly in favor of recreational legalization.

The Dabbler: Occasional cannabis users, familiar and comfortable with the substance but unlikely to see it as a key part of their lifestyle. 68% are in favor of its legalization for medical use while 45% believe legal cannabis should be at least as widely available as tobacco and alcohol.

The Canna-curious: A broad consumer group with an interest in adult-use cannabis consumption if legalized in their countries but with limited knowledge about cannabinoid products. 56% are in favor of legalization for medical use, while only 43% support adult-use liberalization.

The Unsparked: Consumers who are outwardly negative towards cannabis use but express enough uncertainty that many could be persuaded to engage further. 18% of these consumers believe that cannabis is unsafe, while 8% see cannabis as something that enhances a user’s lifestyle (8%).

The Naysayer: Strongly against adult use – only 8% in favor of legalization – they are not an immediate target for producers and brand owners. 51% state that they either have no or low levels of daily stress – the least stressed of all profiles.
Seasoned cannabis consumers are established, long-standing and often traditionalist cannabis users “who will form the backbone of the legal industry” as it evolves, according to MacGuill, who quthored the report, adding that companies need to understand and address the priorities of this group without alienating newer consumers whose product and brand priorities are often divergent
“As legalization expands and the normalization of cannabinoid use continues, organizations need to understand the motivations of the modern cannabis consumer and look beyond typical stereotypes,” MacGuill states. “The legal cannabis industry must mirror the views and values of its consumers, given its history and the nature of its often counter-cultural evolution. Industry players can only achieve this with a nuanced segmentation and holistic understanding of participants in the sector.”
April 20, 2021
Academics Caution Against Big Tobacco Takeover of Cannabis

Photo: Terre Di Cannabis from Pixabay
Big Tobacco must be prevented from utilizing “its profit-driven product engineering of addictive and deadly products, predatory marketing practices and anti-regulatory expertise” to dominate the legal cannabis industry, according to Andy Tan and Shaleen Title.
Writing in Tobacco Control, the academics say the tobacco industry has a demonstrated history of resisting government regulation, co-opting scientific experts, engineering tobacco products to be more addictive and using substantial marketing budgets to maximize sales and profits of its products. “If tobacco companies are permitted to dominate the legal cannabis industry, this will risk exacerbating public health harms on groups that are disproportionately harmed by tobacco use,” they write.
Driven by declining sales of tobacco products and spreading legalization of cannabis, the tobacco industry has been diversifying into cannabis in recent years.
In January 2016, Philip Morris International invested $20 million in Syqe Medical, which developed a medical cannabis inhaler. In June 2018, Imperial Brands invested in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies.
In December 2018, Altria Group invested $1.8 billion in Cronos, a Canada-based multinational cannabis company. Imperial Brands in July 2019 acquired a stake in Auxly Cannabis.
If tobacco companies are permitted to dominate the legal cannabis industry, this will risk exacerbating public health harms.
Andy Tan and Shaleen Title
And just last month, BAT signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Organigram, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Organigram Holdings.
In their piece, Tan and Title urge authorities to restrict Big Tobacco’s participation in the cannabis industry, for example by placing limits on the seizes of cannabis businesses by enforcing regulations on how many stores or plants one individual can own.
Tan is associate professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Title is a distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
April 14, 2021
New Mexico Legalizes Marijuana, Expunges Records
The governor of New Mexico on Monday signed a bill to legalize marijuana in the state, as well as a separate measure to expunge records for people with prior, low-level cannabis convictions.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) gave final approval to the legislation, a key accomplishment for her administration after she listed legalization as a 2021 priority, according to Marijuana Moment. Although lawmakers failed to pass a legalization bill before the regular session’s end last month, the governor convened a special session to ensure they got the job done.
“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come,” the governor said in a press release. “We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed war on drugs. And we’re going to break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”
“As we look to rebound from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic,” she said, “entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises, the state and local governments will benefit from the added revenue and, importantly, workers will benefit from the chance to land new types of jobs and build careers.”
Provisions of the legalization bill and expungements legislation were initially included together in the same package that passed the House during the regular session but later stalled on the Senate floor. When the special session started, however, supporters split up the legislation to win favor from Republicans and moderate Democrats who expressed opposition to the scope of the original proposal.
With Lujan Grisham’s action, New Mexico is the third state to formally end cannabis prohibition within the span of days. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill into law late last month, just hours after lawmakers sent it to his desk. In Virginia, lawmakers last week accepted amendments to a legal cannabis bill that were suggested by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), giving final passage to the bill that they had initially approved in February.
April 13, 2021
Humble Introduces New Hemp Wrap Product Line
Humble Specialty Products announced the launch of its inaugural hemp wrap product line. The Humble Hemp Wraps brand was created by the team behind the vape company Humble Juice Co. and the company intends to deliver a hemp-derived alternative to conventional, tobacco-based rolling papers.
“Humble Hemp Wraps offer a perfectly balanced, sweet inhale and flavorful exhale to provide a pure smoking experience,” said Daniel Clark, CEO of Humble Specialty Products. “We took time in creating our hemp wraps so that they offer superior flavor, a smoother burn and are easy to roll.”
Humble Hemp Wraps come in packs of two and are available in eight flavor-filled options: Apple, Blue Razz, Grape, Mango, Natural, Peach, Vanilla and Watermelon.
Humble Hemp Wraps aims to break the trend of standard tobacco-derived products by creating tobacco-free wraps that incorporate natural hemp ingredients. Humble Hemp Wraps are designed with a super velvety texture, a waved paper edge for easy rolling and rich flavoring for a quality smoking experience, according to a press release. Humble Hemp Wraps are currently available for purchase at select retailers nationwide and online at www.humblehempwraps.com.
April 13, 2021
IOTO Expands Into Fast-Growing Hemp Sheets Market

IOTO will leverage its experience in tobacco to serve the hemp industry
(Photo courtesy of IOTO)
IOTO International, a U.S. and Brazil-based manufacturer of homogenized wrapper, cut filler and binder, has expanded its Yerba Mate, Chamomile and other herbal homogenized sheet offerings to include premium reconstituted hemp sheet.
Utilizing qualified and tested hemp flower, leaf or stem supplied by customers (or directly sourced locally by IOTO), the company is now able to offer customized manufacture of hemp sheet to the specific herbal content requirements of its clients.
“Demand for hemp smoking wrappers in the USA has increased exponentially over the last two years as brand developers have brought novel hemp cigarettes, cigars, hemp wrappers and hemp cones to the market,” said Helder Tullio, director of operations at IOTO, in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the majority of the hemp wrap available today is generic and not crafted to meet the specific smoking qualities required by brand owners.
At IOTO, we are set up to run both small-scale and high-volume production, and we are able to meet the specific formulation needs of the client.
We can help make smaller brands more viable and give them real points of differentiation.
Helder Tullio, director of operations, IOTO
“Given our scaled manufacturing approach, we can work with smaller initial production runs and ultimately grow with brand owners as sales volumes expand. In effect, we can help make smaller brands more viable and give them real points of differentiation from the generic hemp wrapper offerings that are in the market today.
“The IOTO hemp wrapper is a highly durable hemp sheet, and we believe our manufacturing process gives us a distinct edge over competitors and delivers a superior quality hemp sheet for clients. In addition, IOTO’s capabilities in flavor development also helps our customers meet their targeted taste profile requirements when making flavored hemp sheet.”
April 7, 2021
PAX Labs Launches Era Life Cannabis Vaporizer

Photo: PAX Labs
PAX Labs has launched the Era Life cannabis vaporizer. Created for the on-the-go consumer. According to the company, Era Life delivers an effortless experience without compromising on full flavor, vapor or consistency. The device brings together a high performing battery with PAX’s most compact device yet. Era Life works with any PAX Era pod, featuring curated, high-purity cannabis, produced by one of PAX’s carefully selected partners across the country. Era Life is available in the colors Onyx, Grass, Blaze and Indigo.
“We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality that our customers have come to know and trust,” said Colt Stander, head of product at PAX Labs, in a statement.

We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality.
Colt Stander, head of product, PAX Labs
“Cannabis is one of today’s fastest growing industries and we’re seeing new consumers enter the space rapidly. We’ve taken the best PAX has to offer, perfected the core functionality, and packaged it up in our most portable design yet—perfect for those who want the easiest possible experience but still care about durability, aesthetics, and safety in the products they use.”
PAX’s temperature control checks the temperature 125 times per second, ensuring a consistent temperature that delivers a full, never-burnt flavor throughout the life of the pod. Whether using lower temperature for more flavor or higher temperature for more vapor, Era Life creates smooth airflow through laser cut sidings and achieves better hits every time.
Era Life provides more than 150 puffs per charge and an easy-to-read LED low battery indicator ensures it’s never without juice. The product is UL-certified, meeting the leading safety standards
Priced at $35, Era Life is available for purchase by those 21 and over beginning on pax.com and at licensed retailers in legal U.S. states where PAX products are sold.
March 31, 2021
Thailand to Start Producing Commercial Hemp

Photo: Rolf Hansen from Pixabay
The Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TOAT) plans to start planting hemp for commercial purposes by August, reports The Bangkok Post.
The Council of State is currently reinterpreting the Tobacco Authority of Thailand Act that states TOAT can only produce tobacco leaves and other plants. The council decides if TOAT is legally eligible to produce hemp for commercial purposes, said TOAT governor Panuphol Rattanakanjanapatra.
The decision is expected next week.
TOAT will focus on production of hemp in the preliminary stage, which can be used for medical and industrial purposes. TOAT aims to encourage 13,500 tobacco farmers to shift to hemp or cannabis farming to increase their income; the authority cut its tobacco leaf purchases to 13 million kg per year from 20 million kg per year.
March 30, 2021
New York Poised to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
State lawmakers in New York have agreed to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a late-night session. The move positions the state to join at least 14 other states already allowing residents to buy marijuana for recreational and not just medical use. New York’s past efforts to pass marijuana legalization have failed in recent years.
Credit: Terre di Cannabis
“My goal in carrying this legislation has always been to end the racially disparate enforcement of marijuana prohibition that has taken such a toll on communities of color across our state, and to use the economic windfall of legalization to help heal and repair those same communities,” Sen. Liz Krueger, Senate sponsor of the bill and chair of the Senate’s finance committee, said.
Democrats who now wield a veto-proof majority in the state Legislature that made passing the bill a priority this year, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has estimated legalization could eventually bring the state about $350 million annually, according to a story in the Associated Press. Cuomo has pointed to growing acceptance of legalization in the Northeast, including in Massachusetts, Maine and most recently, New Jersey.
The legislation would allow recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21, and set up a licensing process for the delivery of cannabis products to customers. Individual New Yorkers could grow up to three mature and three immature plants for personal consumption, and local governments could opt out of retail sales. The bill also sets aside revenues to cover the costs of everything from regulating marijuana, to substance abuse prevention, according to the AP.
The legislation would take effect immediately if passed, though sales wouldn’t start until New York sets up rules and a proposed cannabis board, according to the AP. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes estimated Friday it could take 18 months to two years for sales to start.
New York would set a 9% sales tax on cannabis, plus an additional 4% tax split between the county and local government. It would also impose an additional tax based on the level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, ranging from 0.5 cents per milligram for flower to 3 cents per milligram for edibles.
New York would eliminate penalties for possession of less than three ounces of cannabis, and automatically expunge records of people with past convictions for marijuana-related offenses that would no longer be criminalized, according to the AP. That’s a step beyond a 2019 law that expunged many past convictions for marijuana possession and reduced the penalty for possessing small amounts.
The bill allows cities, towns and villages to opt out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses by passing a local law by Dec. 31, 2021 or nine months after the effective date of the legislation. They cannot opt out of legalization.
March 28, 2021
Thailand Tobacco Authority Considers Cannabis

Photo: cytis | Pixabay
The Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TOAT) is hoping that sales of cannabis and hemp extracts will help compensate for deteriorating income from tobacco production, reports the Bangkok Post.
The TOAT is drafting a ministerial regulation to give the organization the authority to grow and produce extracts from cannabis and hemp, which can be used in medicine and cosmetics, said TOAT governor Panuphol Rattanakanjanapatra.
Although the Tobacco Act stipulates TOAT can produce tobacco leaves and other plants, clarity is needed on TOAT conducting R&D on cannabis and hemp for commercial purposes.
The business value of cannabis and hemp could reach tens of billions of baht, according to Panuphol.
At present, a two-tier system is applied for excise duties levied on cigarettes. A 20 percent tax rate is applied to the retail price for packs costing up to THB60 ($1.95).
If the retail price exceeds THB60 per pack, a 40 percent tax rate is applied.
A flat tax rate of 40 percent was scheduled to be applied in October 2019, regardless of the retail price, but there has been opposition from the authority and tobacco farmers.
March 15, 2021
BAT, Organigram Team up on Next-Gen Cannabis Products

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The BAT Group (BAT) has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Organigram, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Organigram Holdings, focused on research and product development activities of next-generation adult cannabis products with an initial focus on cannabidiol (CBD).
This agreement augments ongoing BAT activities to expand its portfolio “beyond nicotine” and follows the pilot launch of Vuse CBD Zone in Manchester, U.K., earlier this year.
Through the collaboration, BAT will gain access to cutting-edge R&D technologies, product innovation and cannabis expertise, complementing BAT’s extensive plant-based expertise and development capabilities.
Organigram has a proven track record of consumer-led innovation and developing high quality adult-use recreational and medical cannabis products, which are legally available in Canada.

We believe this collaboration has significant potential to enhance our activities.

David O’Reilly, director of scientific research, BAT
“Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to accelerating our transformation and building ‘A Better Tomorrow,’” said David O’Reilly, director of scientific research at BAT, in a statement. “Our multi-category, consumer-centric approach, which is key to our transformation, aims to provide choice and meet the evolving needs of adult consumers. This choice provides reduced risk alternatives to combustible cigarettes as well as going beyond tobacco and nicotine into new and exciting areas of product innovation.
“We believe this collaboration has significant potential to enhance our activities, allowing us to combine our world-class expertise while enabling scientists from both BAT and Organigram to work closely together and share information real-time. We know that in R&D, this is how you make real breakthroughs and accelerate progress.
“We have been impressed by the strong management team and culture at Organigram. This collaboration aligns with our long-term strategy and will enable us to work with Organigram at an R&D level as well as contributing to their wider operations.”

We have been extremely selective about aligning with a strategic partner.

Greg Engel, CEO, Organigram
“This is a tremendous milestone in the evolution of Organigram,” said Greg Engel, CEO of Organigram, in a statement. “It is instrumental in advancing our commitment to offering consumers innovative cannabis products and to furthering our long-term international strategy. We have been extremely selective about aligning with a strategic partner and in BAT, we’ve found a leading consumer goods business with innovative product platforms, an impressive dedication to research and development, deep consumer insights, regulatory expertise and a commitment to responsible stewardship and consumer safety.”
March 11, 2021