22 Cannabis Predictions For 2020

Denys Svirepchuk
Denys Svirepchuk

Denys Svirepchuk is a dynamic writer at AskGrowers known for his engaging and informative content. His articles often blend entertainment with education, offering readers a unique perspective on the cannabis industry. Denys is particularly adept at crafting content that ranges from fun and quirky ideas, like cannabis-themed gifts to more serious topics such as industry news and legalization updates. He also provides in articles valuable guides and lifehacks for cannabis enthusiasts, delving into the specifics of cannabinoids and other intricate aspects of cannabis. Denys' work is characterized by its diversity making him a versatile and much-appreciated contributor to the cannabis community.

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22 Cannabis Predictions For 2020

Cannabis is not just about consumption, relaxation, and a burst of joy. Whether you consume it for recreational or medical purposes, it gets your deeper interest. What strain should you use? How will it affect you? Will something better come out in the future?

The mere look into the THC content tells us a lot about the cannabis industry growth. Back in the 1970s, the golden age of marijuana, the average THC content was around 3-4%. Today, high THC levels make weed much more potent. Getting a strain with over 20% of THC is quite popular nowadays.

How did we come so far? Selective plant breeding techniques developed the genetics of different strains in the right direction. Female plants are also prevented from producing seeds thanks to diligent cultivation techniques. This leads to buds of higher quality, with no stems, seeds, or leaves throughout them. Marijuana culture has arrived a long time ago and science keeps getting better.

This brings us to a question: what are the cannabis industry projections for 2020? What improvements can we expect to see in the short term?

Let’s discuss 22 trends that will likely dominate the industry next year.

Marijuana Industry Growth: Predicting The Trends For 2020

We can expect higher CBD content

THC is the focus of those who breed strains for recreational use. For medicinal use, however, CBD is more important. THC gives you the sense of “high,” since it’s a psychoactive compound. CBD doesn’t do that since it forms a weak bond with the CB1 (cannabinoid 1) brain receptors.

As it doesn’t cause the euphoric effects, it’s the preferred choice for medicinal use. It helps with anxiety, depression, migraines, inflammatory bowel disease, pain, seizures, and other conditions. This attracts a diverse range of customers, who are aware of the benefits they want to get from cannabis consumption.

The research on CBD is already strong. Scientists explore its antibiotic and anti-cancer effects. With more research and better breeding, we’re onto something great here.

CBD-infused edibles and beverages will reach mass production

Back in 2018, Coca-Cola announced its interest in CBD-infused beverages. That product still hasn’t hit the shelves, but the talks certainly inspired other brands to explore the potential of CBD-infused edibles and beverages.

We can already buy chocolate and all kinds of tea that are supposed to sharpen the senses and relax the mind without having any psychotropic effect on us. That’s way better than simple Coke, don’t you think?

It’s a matter of fact: cannabis is getting more mainstream in 2020!

More doctors will start recommending marijuana

Doctors are getting educated on the beneficial effects of medicinal cannabis use. With that, they start recommending it to their patients, so they directly influence the cannabis market growth.

An increasing number of countries are looking into the legalization of marijuana for medical use. This causes an exponential expansion of the industry, with huge growth in cultivating, processing, and exporting marijuana.

People will get more educated

Most users are aware of the properties of THC and CBD. Depending on their needs, they use a certain strain that’s suitable for medical and recreational use. However, marijuana is much more than THC and CBD. It has other cannabinoid compounds, such as CBN, THCV, and CBG. The levels of terpenes also affect the psychoactive effect a particular strain is going to have. That’s the reason why two strains with a similar balance between THC and CBD will still affect the consumer in a different way.

It’s no wonder why we’re constantly seeing new websites and blogs dedicated to cannabis. People are getting interested in the theory and science between their favorite strain. Before they try something new, they want to learn about it.

Here’s just a glimpse into these compounds:

  • Limonene is a terpene that affects cannabis receptors. It’s still not researched well, but its potential health benefits are huge. We expect marijuana breeders to focus on achieving higher levels of limonene and other terpenes in their strains.
  • THCA hasn’t been explored enough, mainly because it needs heat to convert into THC and show its psychoactive effects. However, it does have unique benefits of its own, so we expect researchers to focus on sampling pure THCA.
  • CBC is already popular among researchers, but not enough. The plant holds it in significant quantities and it’s easy to extract, so we won’t be surprised to see more CBC supplements throughout 2020.
  • THCV is found in low concentrations, but its significant psychoactive effects make it very interesting for research. The unique thing about it is that it suppresses appetite, so many users will be interested in trying a strain that doesn’t make them reach for the Oreos right away.
  • CBG is the compound that gives CBD and THC when exposed to sunlight. It requires more research for us to know what benefits it has on its own.
  • CBN is an important compound that cannabis produces as it ages. Its psychoactive properties are not very noticeable. But it has very important sedative properties that can be used for treating anxiety and depression.

Marijuana-related crime rates will drop

It’s time for the police to start focusing on more important and more challenging issues than marijuana crime. As more countries around the world legalize the recreational and medicinal use of cannabis, governments will spend fewer funds and time on tracking and penalizing individuals over the possession of a joint or two.

2020 is already opening the doors to a better future.

Governments that legalize marijuana will have an important issue to solve: what happens to those individuals who are already serving a sentence because of consumption or possession of marijuana? Since they violated the laws that existed in the time of prosecution, the issue is tricky.

We’ll see larger investments

North Macedonia is only one of the many small countries that benefit from the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes. The country attracted foreign investors, thanks to its cheap workforce and beneficial taxing policies. With this trend, more people from under-developed countries are getting jobs. The country’s economy grows, while foreign investors get new markets to explore.

The U.S. market will dominate the Canadian market

Recreational use of marijuana is legal in Canada, but the market remains small when compared to the U.S. market, where only a few states have legalized recreational marijuana use. Michigan and Illinois are expected to legalize weed in the first half of 2020. With this, the market will grow even more.

The black market is slowly going away

In 2019, the legal marijuana market in the U.S. reached $14 billion. That’s a small part of the total worth of the market, which is around $76 billion. However, with the increased pace of legalization, the black market will slowly go away.

We’ll be seeing more dispensaries across the states, and they will operate legally. People won’t need to turn to dealers when they need weed; they will buy it from the store or order it online.

The marijuana industry will take a piece of alcohol and tobacco sales

In the United States, the alcohol and tobacco industry reach $400 billion in sales. That’s a huge market that cannot be easily affected. However, as the marijuana industry grows, it will take a small piece of that market.

With marijuana being legal, many more people will choose it over alcohol and cigarettes for recreational use.

The talk about taxes will carry on

Federal tax relief would be a huge deal for the marijuana industry. Unfortunately, it’s not likely to occur in 2020. The states that legalized weed continue to open the topic. They will benefit from tax relief since the sellers will drop the prices. With that, illicit market sales will slowly go away.

The conversation is open, but the country is still not ready to go that far.

Industrialization facilitates the production process

The “fresh-frozen” trend is gaining in popularity. When it first appeared, the idea of freezing part of the harvest was strange. Today, it’s almost mandatory. Raw Garden, the largest cultivator in California, freezes 100% of its harvest. Many other producers follow that example.

Farmers are investing in industrial freezers and dry ice in their fields. Extract labs use the frozen crops to extract compounds for various products (mainly vape pens that don’t smell of weed and are easy for users to dose).

The cultivation process is also dependent on greenhouse growing. The growth of industrialization is clearly anticipated for 2020.

The banking industry will become less hostile

The cannabis industry is huge, but largely underbanked as well. Its use is not legal across all states, so banks, Mastercard, Visa, and other financial institutions won’t work with cannabis companies because they fear federal prosecution. The biggest problem is that cannabis startups cannot take bank loans.

In September 2019, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act. It’s a big step forward, so we expect banks to get on board during 2020 finally.

More payment options for buyers

Banks make it really hard for marijuana users to buy their stuff. Since cannabis is not legal on a federal level, banks decline to process any transaction linked to cannabis sales. Of course, they can use cash in local dispensaries. But what happens with online sales?

This is where cryptocurrencies get into the picture. Banks will hop on board, but cryptocurrencies will become more popular, too. Blockchain guarantees absolutely confidential transactions, so people prefer using it for private matters, such as recreational use of weed.

The legalization movement will gain on power

Currently, recreational use of cannabis is completely legal in 11 U.S. states and decriminalized in 15 others. Activists are still working hard to debunk the myths about cannabis use. It’s possible for at least five new states to completely legalize recreational use during 2020.

The public support grows as people get more educated about the health benefits of the responsible use of marijuana. They realize that everyone will benefit from its legalization at one point or another.

New research will help us learn more

This is one of the most definite cannabis predictions for 2020: researchers will still be interested in the effects and side effects of marijuana use.

The market growth imposes serious challenges to scientists. Can everyone use weed? How do different strains affect different mental and physical illnesses? Is there a specific prescription strain for everyone’s needs?

Health researchers have a lot of work to do! They must explore all the properties of different components besides the well-known THC and CBD. Then, they should educate users and doctors who prescribe marijuana for health issues.

Anti-cannabis campaigns will become more prominent

There’s a paradoxical situation going on: the federal government is gaining a lot through cannabis tax dollars, but still funds anti-cannabis public campaigns.

While the majority of American citizens would love to see marijuana legalized everywhere, many politicians stand in the way of full liberalization. Joe Biden, for example, isn’t willing to discuss the matter. He was one of the leaders of the War on Drugs movement, which had a negative impact on marijuana users. His view has softened, but the presidential candidate is not fully on board with full legalization.

What about advertising?

We’re still not getting that liberal. The industry is highly regulated and is not allowed to show commercials. Although local governments are getting more liberal with legalization, they aren’t expected to move away from the restriction on ads.

The good thing about this is that users don’t necessarily need ads. They can get informed through different blogs that offer in-depth information on the type of weed that would suit their needs. Commercial ads would only make the choice more difficult.

More jobs in the cannabis industry!

Some politicians may oppose the liberal use of cannabis, but they cannot deny the fact that this industry is employing a growing number of individuals. Currently, over 200K people in the U.S. are directly employed in the industry for cultivation and producing cannabis.

In 2020, as the demand increases and the production responds, we expect to see thousands of new jobs being created in this sector.

By 2024, the cannabis market sector is expected to exceed $55 billion. That’s a progressive pace of growth that no one can ignore. It’s no wonder that even Joe Biden’s attitude towards consumption is a bit more liberal than it once was.

Cannabis will become a big deal in California

As California slowly towards the legal recreational use, it will issue more licenses for stores. This is happening at a fast pace, so the state is expected to go way over $2 billion in taxes collected from this industry.

This is a big deal since it serves as a positive example for states that still haven’t legalized marijuana.

Greater transparency is much needed

Millions of American citizens will try marijuana for the first time in 2020. Many will get back to it after a long time since they last used it. They must know what to expect from the strain they choose. Dispensaries and websites offer a lot of information, but it’s not enough.

State governments must invest in campaigns that educate their citizens about the effects of marijuana and the negative sides of misuse.

Mexico and Colombia will become big players in the industry

These countries have massive potential for legal agricultural export. They are on their way to establishing global dominance in production. With this, they boost their economies but also contribute towards a lower price of marijuana on a global level.

2020 Is Going To Be A Good Year For Cannabis

The marijuana market took a lot of time to grow. The industry faced tough regulations, but it managed to overcome them in the past few years. Marijuana consumption is still not completely liberalized on a federal level. We’re far from that goal, but 2020 will get us closer.

Depending on the way the laws change, more individuals than ever will be using marijuana next year. This means that we need more education, so we’ll see growth in that sector, too. Researchers will find out new ways to implement cannabis in treating different health issues. We’ll be seeing more blogs and websites dedicated to educating the public. We’ll see dispensaries being more transparent with the properties of the strains they sell.

Overall, 2020 is going to be a big year for the cannabis industry.

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