Tough Times, Tough Truths

IT WAS A ROUGH year in cannabis. In the U.S., comprehensive federal reform never materialized. Cannabis stocks took a deeper tumble in 2022. When we put our ear to the ground on Main Street, we heard the depressing sound of too many shutters closing on too many licensed dispensaries and shops.

When things are as difficult in an industry as they are now in cannabis, conflicts that simmered during good times start coming to a boil. The biggest clash is a battle for the very soul of cannabis as a business. The ideological struggle between artisan producers and corporate cannabis has been baked in from the start of the legal industry —but now it feels like the knives are out for real.

In his column this issue (p52), Andrew DeAngelo explores the tension between the pursuit of “scale” in cannabis production and distribution, versus goals of quality and sustainability reflected in smaller grows and craft products. For the counter perspective, see our interview with Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin (p30).

In other industries, scaled-out giants and small-batch producers can co-exist. There’s rooom in the market for both Budweiser and Fiddlehead Brewing Company, winner of Brewbound’s Craft Brewery of the Year in 2022.

But the legal cannabis markets in the U.S. don’t yet function like the beer market. Licenses are scarce and expensive to acquire. The vertical integration model pursued by the MSOs prevents the largest retailers of cannabis from selling third-party product that could be supplied by smaller producers. Imagine a grocery chain that only sold Coors!

It feels like a wild forest canopy is enveloping the industry—there’s too little sunlight to be had and too many individuals fighting each other to access it. The model isn’t working. Can we fix it?

Damon Poeter
Editor-in-Chief
damon@gctmag.com