How popular is the cannabis legacy market? – Cannabis News, Lifestyle

How popular is the cannabis legacy market? A new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs has confirmed what many know. Higher prices and inconveniences encourage consumers to seek out illegal cannabis sources. In other words, the barrier to legal cannabis makes the legacy market more attractive to consumers.

The researchers came from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. They looked at data from the 2019 and 2020 International Cannabis Policy Study. In an observational study, participants self-reported how much cannabis they legally used and bought.

Participants cited higher prices as the main reason for avoiding legal sources. In Canada, preference for legacy markets was nearly 40% versus just over 25% for American consumers.

The second most cited inconvenience was that legal sources were too far away. Or that there were no shops where the participants lived. Other reasons were mentioned less, but remain significant. These include the desire for anonymity, avoidance of irradiated cannabis or loyalty to hereditary farmers.

Making the legacy cannabis market unpopular

One of Canada’s key goals with legalization is to unpopular the legacy cannabis market. In addition to “protecting children”, the main aim was to oust BC Bud. Since day one, the government has favored a top-down licensing regime for producers.

“The legalization of cannabis is one of the most remarkable drug use policies in several decades,” said study co-author David Hammond, Ph.D., professor and associate research chair in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo.

“Consumer transition from illegal to legal retail sources is a key goal of legalization. Indeed, many of the potential benefits of legalization — including product standards, revenue for legitimate businesses, and a reduced burden on the criminal justice system — depend on switching consumers to legal cannabis sources. Given the importance of this issue, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence on the factors that determine where consumers source their products in a legitimate marketplace.”

Future research required

The future popularity of the cannabis legacy market could falter. As the continent’s cannabis industry evolves and matures, there’s a chance these dates could change. For example, surveying Canadian consumers in 2022 may produce different results than 2019. The number of retail stores was significantly lower in 2019.

“As markets mature, the number of deals per capita tends to increase and inconvenience is expected to become a lower hurdle. Regulators must balance public health and criminal justice priorities to create a competitive legal cannabis market that encourages legal purchase.”

Make the cannabis legacy market popular again

The study does not speculate on whether customers are justified in their choice. For example, Canada’s high barriers to entry exclude many cannabis entrepreneurs. Loyal BC Bud customers will prefer the old market, no matter how attractive the government tries to make corporate weed.