Politically, a strong majority of all Americans (from all political stripes) now support legalization. Opposition, even among Republican voters, is crumbling. Congress is now committed to ending federal Prohibition.
Culturally, sales of cannabis for 4th of July celebrations will soon rival sales of 4th of July fireworks. When a new cannabis retail store opened in Oregon along its border with Idaho, Idaho consumers immediately began flocking there.
This is despite the fact that cannabis remains illegal in that state. As Americans become educated about how safe cannabis is and its health-promoting properties, Prohibition-era laws are increasingly seen as irrelevant.
Socially, cannabis is becoming the drug-of-choice of educated professionals. Increasing numbers of Americans see it as a safe (and civilized) alternative to alcohol use. A previous Seed Investor article pointed to the versatility of cannabis for “mood enhancement”.
For all these reasons, a rather cumbersome headline from Business Insider should be no surprise to educated cannabis investors.
What’s a “weed-themed open house”? Business Insider provides additional details.
At a $3.5 million home for sale in Los Angeles, 100 guests gathered for an event called "The Greenleaf Cannabis Laboratory." The open-house event featured cannabis-infused chocolates, gummies, and other edibles, kombucha cocktails, vape pens, and CBD cream massages. Hemp plants and marijuana paraphernalia were staged around the home.
Was this “event” to sell real estate or cannabis?
Obviously, it was an event to sell the real estate. Increasingly, cannabis sells itself.
As cannabis continues to go mainstream, it will continue to replace alcohol not just as a social lubricant but as a responsible business gratuity. No one embarrasses themselves through intoxication. No one’s health is impaired for the sake of concluding a business deal.
Today, it’s cannabis + luxury real estate. Undoubtedly, other entrepreneurial real estate agents and companies will imitate this event.
Tomorrow? Anywhere that the $1 trillion per year alcohol industry is currently present, the cannabis industry is capable of following.
Multinational alcohol companies are already hearing those footsteps. Companies like Constellation Brands (US:STZ) and Molson Coors (US:TAP) have already started to aggressively buy their way into the cannabis industry.
Cannabis is quickly becoming an American consumer staple. For precisely that reason, it will continue to become more and more prominent in the business world. Investors take note.