If you reside in a megacity or a small town where cannabis laws have been actively revised, there’s a higher chance you must have seen a cannabis pop-up store. These stores come in various sizes and shapes, be it a stand or a truck, all having logos in bright shades of greens. It seems cannabis pop-ups are now re-emerging with a sense of reprisal two years after the covid pandemic. These cannabis pop-ups have now invented new ways and strategies to appeal to and allure new customers to their stands.

Nearly legal

A large percentage of these cannabis pop-ups are emerging in cities and locations where cannabis has been legalized. Places like adult retail shops and medical dispensaries are common areas for cannabis pop-ups. In cities such as New York where sales of cannabis are unregulated, a lot of these pop-ups are still present.

To have a better understanding of pop-ups, the MJ Business Daily interviewed various people across the cannabis industry. The interview focused on the significance of these pop-ups in the cannabis industry and their marking strategy. The interviewee discussed how the pop-ups creatively advertised to allure prospective and new customers.

According to Jushi Holdings’ chief creative director, Andreas Neumann, he explained that each pop-up is a small event that tells people’s stories. This is why many pop-ups are very creative so that their audience can relate to the story they paint.

With pop-ups, sellers are given the space and flexibility to inventively allow for a creative marketing outcome. For instance Tasteology, a cannabis brand capitalized on Gen Z’s obsession with astrology, using it as a marketing tool. The Tasteligy brand offers Tarot readings in various dispensaries across the country. Another good example is the Luchador brand which tags itself as the Heavyweight Champion of Cannabis, capitalizing on wrestling. The brand organizes free shows on Mexican wrestling to promote people to give THC drops and gummies a trial.

Dealing with the law

As regards cannabis pop-ups, many of which have emerged in New York City are quite dubious. Presently, sellers have taken advantage of the current legal cannabis situation in the state, and law enforcers are not happy about the current events.

According to reports from Gothamist, the Office of Cannabis Management in New York City has tried to regulate these establishments.  The agency is trying to get things under control even when the consequences of these establishments’ actions remain vague. According to the cease memo published, the agency made it clear to the establishments that continuing such activities puts their business at risk of obtaining a license in the legal marijuana market. The memo went on to warn that unlicensed cannabis sale is criminal and may subject the business to likely criminal penalties and significant fines.

While the consequences of owning an unlawful pop-up store are still unknown, enforcement agencies and lawmakers are trying their best to navigate the confusing times. While decriminalization of cannabis is becoming a major focus in New York, the cannabis industry is looking to grow massively. As much as several agencies want to control and regulate the situation, arresting these cannabis sellers might send a bad signal.

New York’s Dilemma

For more than one year now, New Yorkers have remained in legal cannabis anguish. As it stands, the use and possession of cannabis have been revised to be legal in the state. However, there are no state-licensed dispensaries in the state which means cannabis sales are currently illegal.

The legal cannabis bill was enacted into law in March of 2021 by the ex-Governor of the state Andrew Cuomo. The bill makes it legal for adults 21 years and above to use and possess marijuana. The cannabis possession limit is restricted to 24 grams of cannabis concentrate and 3 ounces it cannabis flower. However, the government is yet to issue licenses to any potential dispensary.

To fill up this gap, underground cannabis firms have taken advantage of the situation, selling cannabis at unlicensed shops. Many of these stores are now being found across the city of New York.

The gray area

Several cannabis businesses are taking advantage of the loopholes in New York’s legal cannabis laws. Many of these businesses run privately on social media platforms and websites such as Craigslist. Some, on the other hand, operate with so much confidence in the open, running their business in storefronts or on food trucks on the Big Apple streets.

For instance Street Lawyer Services owned by Lonny Bramzon which offers cannabis-themed digital content and clothing, also offers cannabis to its customers. The store which is located at the lower east end of New York offers cannabis as a gift to its customers who purchase hoodies, t-shirts, and other paraphernalia.

According to Bramson, his establishment is heavy on cannabis content and also a safe place for the community.  The establishment is truly a beautiful thing Bramzon affirmed during his interview with New York Post.

Another cannabis firm in New York is the Empire Cannabis Club. The firm claims to be the state’s first dispensary and a nonprofit organization. Managing two different stores across the city, the firm provides membership services for individuals to consume and purchase cannabis. The company also markers cannabis delivery on its website.

Empire, on its official website, noted that the legislature has granted them the go-ahead to distribute cannabis without profit. Not just that, the company also has a membership service established enabling the firm to acquire marijuana for its members.

Conclusion

Empire Cannabis and Street Lawyer are just two out of multitudes of pop-up cannabis stores across New York City. However, enforcement agents have claimed they all operate on grey areas and that won’t last for long. With more than 50 cease-and-desist memos published in the previous month, the Office of Cannabis Management has criticized the cannabis stores. The OCM via the department spokesperson claims these stores are illegal. To put it simply, this is an exciting time for cannabis enthusiasts but a rambling one for enforcement agents and those looking to just venture into the industry.

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Since the beginning of 2021, there has probably not been an industry that has produced more excitement than cannabis. And it is to see why, as some estimates suggest that yearly weed sales in the United States could experience a three-fold increase between 2019 and 2025, reaching over forty-one billion dollars.

Thirty-seven states gave the green light on medical cannabis during the November election. 19 (plus Guam) out of the 37 also permit the retail sale and consumption of adult-use cannabis. One could correctly suggest that the United States is going green at a highly rapid pace.

Less than seven million of the 335 million people who live in the United States live in areas where cannabis has been legalized to some extent. Those left have three degrees of legalization. There are eleven states with third-degree legalization that have severely limited-access (SLA) programs and have a population of just over 90 million people.

Furthermore, there are twenty more states and two territories (the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) that are purely second-degree medical purposes regimes and have a total population of close to 118 million residents. Lastly, in the 20 first-degree states and territories, which have all allowed recreational marijuana use while simultaneously allowing medicinal use (second-degree), there is a population of almost 150 million people.

Cannabis is Still Illegal in Over a Dozen States in the US

Even though Gallup’s yearly survey recorded an all-time high of 68% of respondents supporting the nationwide legalization of marijuana, there are still over a dozen states who are yet to make weed legal.

In no particular order, these are the states where cannabis is still entirely illegal:

• Georgia

• Indiana

• Kentucky

• Iowa

• Texas

• Idaho

• Wyoming

• Nebraska

• Wisconsin

• South Carolina

• North Carolina

• Tennessee

• Kansas

The annual Gallup cannabis poll reveals widespread support for legalization.

All age groups, all genders, all attained levels of education, and all household earning levels are in support of its legalization. The holdouts are the people who identify as Republicans: Only 48% of Republicans want marijuana legalized nationwide, compared to 83 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of independents. These states are all presently governed by Republicans or have frequently tilted towards that direction in previous elections.

Additionally, just three (Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska) of these states make use of the initiative and referendum processes, meaning that the state’s inhabitants have the choice of initiating a ballot measure, collecting signatures, and perhaps having the measure submitted to a general election vote. The remaining states depend wholly on their various Republican Party-led legislatures to bring about a change on the marijuana front.

Will President Biden Stir Up the Marijuana Landscape?

 Will something be done regarding the holdout states? Since the start of the year, cannabis stocks have been on a tear. President Joe Biden entered office last week, and on January 5, both Democratic Party Senate candidates in Georgia won their respective runoff elections. This means that Democrats now have a tight grip on the legislative arm of the federal government. This makes the chance of federal legalization much more plausible on paper than if Republicans had maintained their small Senate majority.

The thing that is most especially worthy of note about the shift is that Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, is severely against marijuana legalization measures and has nearly globally prevented bills or riders with cannabis legislation from getting to the Senate floor for a vote. With the current House Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, cannabis legislation is more likely to make to make progress in the House and with the President. The Senate is still not running in favor of legalization.

However, this does not guarantee that we are going to witness major differences in marijuana policy at the federal level. Washington’s lawmakers are not sure if they will vote along party lines. What is more crucial to note is that President Biden has not given his support for total legalization. During his campaign trail, President Biden advocated for rescheduling and decriminalizing cannabis, which is a long way from legalization.

Regardless of What Occurs, United States Weed Stocks Have a Bright Future Down the Road

Still, if there is a green light at the end of the tunnel, it belongs to marijuana stock investors. At this juncture, marijuana companies are in perfect condition regardless of whether the federal government makes a move or not. So long as the Department of Justice keeps a hands-off approach, which seems to be what will happen under this new administration, weed stocks will be able to freely operate in the thirty-six states where it has been legalized.  Repealing the 280E tax code may be more important for publically traded companies than full Federal legalization.

For instance, the investing community will possibly experience history being made this year by Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF -0.93%), the biggest unadulterated cannabis stock in the United States. Curaleaf is on course to become the first marijuana stock to reach $1 billion in annual sales this year after acquiring the famous Select brand and purchasing privately held multistate operator (MSO) Grassroots. The deal with Grassroots expanded Curaleaf’s presence to 23 states as well, which is almost two-thirds of the present legalized market.

Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 3.24 percent), a cannabis-focused real estate investment trust (REIT), is an ancillary player with a good chance of succeeding if Biden simply reschedules cannabis. Innovative Industrial Properties depends on its sale-leaseback program to grow its enterprise. With the program, IIP purchases processing and cultivation facilities from MSOs that need cash and immediately leases the properties back to the sellers. The MSO gained the cash that was desperately needed, while the IIP secured a long-time renter.

The argument is that even huge states like Texas may remain cannabis-free in 2022 and beyond without jeopardizing marijuana companies’ development prospects.

Bottom Line

Even with the massive popularity of cannabis in the United States and worldwide, there are still states with no intention of following the trends. Though the Democrats seemingly have the power now to make legalization a nationwide event, there is no urgency or need to do it, as the nation’s cannabis stocks and revenues are otherwise indifferent to the decisions of these states.

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