Consumer Spending on Cannabis Grows as More Dispensaries Open Their Doors

FinancialBuzz.com News Commentary

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. cannabis industry has drastically evolved ever since Colorado and Washington decided to legalize recreational cannabis five years ago. The two states were the first in the U.S. to fully legalize adult-use cannabis and since then, a total of 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use. However, some regions are much more developed than others in terms of the overall consumer base and revenue delivered. For instance, Colorado reported total revenues of USD 683.52 Million during its first year of legalization in 2014. So far in 2019, from the months of January to September, the state has reported total marijuana sales of USD 1.31 Billion. On the other hand, Massachusetts, which is a much smaller marketplace, reported USD 138.9 Million in the six full months (November 2018 to May 2019) of operations. The staggering revenue margins are a direct result of Colorado's early adoption in comparison to Massachusetts' more recent foray into the industry. To put Colorado's cannabis market into perspective, there were 364 dispensaries in the city of Denver alone in 2018. Among the 364 dispensaries, 169 locations were recreational or "retail marijuana stores," while 195 were medical dispensaries. Overall, the number of dispensaries in Denver was more than triple all of the Starbucks and McDonald's in the city, 111. Meanwhile, Massachusetts had 25 recreational dispensaries in operation as of August 2019, according to the Boston Globe. Generally, the discrepancy between Colorado and Massachusetts hints that the cannabis industry is still within its infancy stage and requires time to mature. And as more people begin to explore the cannabis marketplace, the industry is positioned to experience substantial growth in the shortcoming future. According to data compiled by New Frontier Data, the U.S. legal cannabis market was valued at USD 10.3 Billion in 2018. By 2025, the market is expected to reach USD 30 Billion while exhibiting a CAGR of 14%. Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE), iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (OTC: ITHUF) (CSE: IAN), Aleafia Health Inc. (OTC: ALEAF) (TSX: ALEF), United Cannabis Corporation (OTC: CNAB), GB Sciences, Inc. (OTC: GBLX)

In 2018, the U.S. reported total cannabis sales of approximately USD 8.6 Billion to USD 10.0 Billion, according to Marijuana Business Factbook. Overall, the market was predominantly driven by sales of recreational cannabis as consumers spent between USD 5.3 Billion to USD 6.2 Billion. Additionally, the Marijuana Business Factbook projects that the recreational market will continue to outpace the medical market in the future. And by 2023, total U.S. cannabis sales are expected to fall in a range between USD 25.0 Billion to 30.4 Billion. And of the total sales, recreational cannabis is anticipated to account for USD 18.1 Billion to USD 22.0 Billion, while medical cannabis is expected to account for USD 6.9 Billion to USD 8.4 Billion. Overall, the growth of recreational market sales signals that more states could be moving towards legalizing adult-use, while existing legal regions are seeing their consumers base continually grow. The recreational market revenue is attributable to the number of dispensaries that are constantly emerging throughout the U.S. as well as e-commerce platforms. Notably, e-commerce platforms are becoming highly popular because consumers can simply receive their products in the mail as opposed to physically visiting a dispensary. However, due to federal regulations, businesses are not allowed to transport or mail cannabis to other states. On the other hand, CBD is allowed to be shipped throughout the U.S. following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp-derived CBD products. Moreover, some businesses have created online portals where consumers can order their products online and simply pick them up at the store. The e-commerce platforms create a speedier process by allowing consumers to shop at the convenience of their homes, digitally pay for the purchase, and then have them delivered. Meanwhile, online portals can receive consumer payments digitally, eliminating the need to pay upfront at the store. Additionally, the digital payment systems track and maintain monetary transactions, which can simplify the financial structure of a business. "We'd like to see a solution to this cash management problem," said Tim Sultan of the Arizona Dispensaries Association. "There's just too much cash in the industry because banks can't do business with us. We have dispensary owners paying their employees with cash, paying their vendors, paying their electric bills, going to APS with thousands of dollars, paying their taxes with tens of thousands of dollars cash, and just feeling really nervous walking up there with a bag full of cash."

Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) announced yesterday that, "their Third Quarter Disclosure has been published on OTC Markets and shows a significant increase in revenue over Q2 of this year. Gross revenue nearly tripled and net revenue more than doubled over the previous quarter.

'We are extremely pleased with the revenue figures we have posted for the third quarter. The objective for 2019 has been to create a sustainable revenue stream for the Company which, in my opinion, we have achieved with MTrac. I am regularly encouraged by the resiliency my team continues to demonstrate in navigating the many different challenges of providing sustainable financial services within the Cannabis industry,' said Global Payout CEO, Vanessa Luna. 'With 2020 on the horizon we are focused on diversification opportunities for Global Payout that will translate, we believe, into more revenue streams for our Company and keep us on our path to profitability. We have dedicated extensive resources to rebuilding the foundational structure of Global Payout and truly believe that these efforts will culminate when we complete the audit and file our Form 10 Registration statement.'

The Company plans to focus the remainder of the year on continued efforts in banking, software developments, and system enhancements, in addition to guiding its ongoing two-year audit to completion. We intend to continue to keep the public apprised of our progress as these develop.

About Global Payout, Inc. (OTC Pink: GOHE): Since the Company's inception in 2009, Global Payout, Inc. has been a leading provider of comprehensive and customized prepaid payment solutions. From 2014 to 2017 Global focused on identifying new state of the art technologies in a variety of industry sectors and successfully helped launch MoneyTrac Technology Inc. and other companies within the FinTech space. In 2018, Global completed a reverse triangular merger with MoneyTrac Technology Inc. resulting in Global retaining the wholly owned subsidiary, MTrac Tech Corporation. Global's current focus is continuing to identify new business opportunities while it reorganizes its future business endeavors."

For our latest "Buzz on the Street" Show featuring Global Payout, Inc. recent corporate news, please head over to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXnKAygZT7E

iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: ITHUF) (CSE: IAN) owns and operates best-in-class licensed cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensary facilities throughout the United States, providing investors diversified exposure to the U.S. regulated cannabis industry. iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. recently announced the opening of its dispensary in Bonita Springs, Florida. This brings the Company's total number of dispensaries in Florida to nine and its system-wide total to 27. Hadley Ford, Chief Executive Officer of iAnthus said, "We are excited to add Bonita Springs to our retail footprint and look forward to delighting the medical marijuana patients of southwest Florida with high-quality, tested, and trusted products. Florida has an exciting and rapidly growing market. We've opened six locations in eight weeks and will continue expand both our dispensary footprint and our product offerings."

Aleafia Health Inc. (OTCQX: ALEAF) (TSX: ALEF) is a leading, vertically integrated cannabis health and wellness company with four primary business units. Aleafia Health Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Emblem Cannabis Corp., recently secured two Health Canada licence amendments that expand processing capacity, allowing for the sale of new product formats at its Paris Processing facility. The amendments apply to the licensed and operational Paris location, which processes all of the Company's extraction, packaging and order fulfilment for Canadian and international sales. As a result of the licence amendments, the Company is now authorized to produce and sell new product formats and has adequate, licensed production space to do so. "These licence amendments are well timed, increasing the versatility of our Paris Facility, while ensuring we can move immediately to the production of new cannabis 2.0 formats," said Aleafia Health Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Benic. "The additional processing capacity will also allow us to accelerate the production of oil-based products derived from our recent outdoor harvest."

United Cannabis Corporation (OTCQB: CNAB) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the advancement of cannabinoids for medical applications and is building a platform for designing targeted therapies to increase the quality of life for patients around the world. United Cannabis Corporation recently announced that it had initiated extraction services at its majority-owned processing plant in McMinnville, Tennessee. Located in central Tennessee, the McMinnville operation is currently processing industrial hemp for CBD-rich distillates, oils and isolates for further processing. Fibrous bi-products generated during processing will also be collected for sale to a wide range of industrial manufacturing customers. Longer term, the Facility will also offer purification, testing and processing services, as well as packaging, fulfillment, and secure storage capabilities. Clifton Lambreth, the Company's Chief Marketing Officer, commented on the announcement, "This is an important addition to the United Cannabis production network as we gear up to hit 50,000 pounds of daily hemp processing in the first quarter. Tennessee is not only one of the fastest growing hemp farming markets in the country, it's also my home state, so I'm very familiar with the needs of the stakeholders in the region. Their response to our launch has been very enthusiastic and I look forward to working together to establish Tennessee and Untied Cannabis as leaders in the hemp sector.

GB Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: GBLX) is a diverse cannabis company, focused on standardized cultivation and production methods; as well as biopharmaceutical research and development. GB Sciences, Inc. recently announced that it had received notification from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that prior to making any decisions on the pending applications, the DEA intends to distribute regulations that govern the program of growing marijuana for scientific research under DEA registration. GB Sciences is one of just 33 companies that applied to the DEA to become registered under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to grow (manufacture) marijuana in order to supply DEA-registered researchers in the United States. Last week, after a three-year delay and following pressure by Congress, patients and researchers, the DEA announced that it will move forward with creating revised regulations and with reviewing the applications. According to the letter from the DEA, it is looking to facilitate research, advance scientific understanding about the effects of marijuana, and potentially aid in the development of safe and effective drug products that may be approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration. "We are well-positioned to meet and exceed the DEA's criteria, and we intend to aggressively pursue federal licensure," said Dr. Andrea Small-Howard, Chief Science Officer and Director of GB Sciences. "The sophistication of our facilities, our team's deep scientific experience, and our groundbreaking cannabinoid therapies are unparalleled in the United States."

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