Illicit Cannabis Market Balloons To $79 Billion: Is Rescheduling Enough To Fix The System?
The $79.3 billion illicit market remains a significant competitor to the legal cannabis industry, Beau Whitney, founder and chief economist at Whitney Economics, says.
Whitney, scheduled to speak at the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, recently shared his thoughts on how rescheduling could affect cannabis companies and the regulatory environment.
Federal rescheduling could open doors for cannabis businesses, particularly regarding access to traditional banking services and capital markets. However, Whitney cautions that predicting the exact outcome remains challenging. This is due to the complexity of the regulatory process and the possibility of political changes.
“Given that the policies have not yet changed and given that there will be a long process to develop, review, and implement new policies, it is not clear what effect that rescheduling will have on banking policy and access to capital,” Whitney said. “There may also be a new Congress or presidential administration involved, …