Today there are over 20 states in the US that have legalized cannabis for either recreational or medicinal purposes. You can find a thriving cannabis market in places like Colorado, Washington, California, and other areas. Last year, it's estimated that legal cannabis sales topped $10 billion and it's expected to grow to $40 billion or more by 2021.
Cannabis has now reportedly become more popular than ice cream in the US...
Nevada is just one of the places that rolled out their own legal cannabis market last summer and it's been doing so well that dispensary owners there have been struggling to keep up with demand and keep the shelves stocked.
At one point it was widely reported that dispensaries there were running out of product because it was being sold so quickly. Officials even declared a state of emergency in Nevada over the matter.
They aren't the only ones to experience shortages. Maryland has also experienced severe shortages of cannabis. And when Colorado first launched its own cannabis market, they too saw an overwhelming demand that quickly cleared out their shelves. Some have suggested that perhaps the struggle might be a result of the restricted number of licenses that are being given out by the state to growers, distributors, and other parties who are involved in the market.
Not everyone is struggling with shortages though...
There have been calls from those working within the industry for a correction in the market, and many are looking at intervention as a solution. They've made suggestions such as possibly reducing the amount of space that people are allowed to use to grow, ending license transfers, and reducing the approval of new licenses that are given out.
Outside of the US, Uruguay is another nation that allows people to access cannabis lawfully, and they made that move several years ago. However, it took awhile for their legal market to finally be established and they too are now struggling to keep up with the demand that they are seeing. At the moment they say that they are seeing a demand which is greater than their productive capacity.
One way that officials and entrepreneurs might consider addressing that issue, both in Uruguay and in the US, is with decreasing state intervention efforts in the market. Freedom will help people to come up with solutions to this problem, to help meet the demands and needs of the community. And intervention via the state will only get in the way, stunt their progress, or cause more problems that will need to be solved.
Sources:
http://fortune.com/2017/12/06/legal-marijuana-sales-10-billion/
https://bdsanalytics.com/press/new-report-legal-marijuana-industry-to-generate-40-billion/
http://www.businessinsider.com/nevada-marijuana-shortage-statement-of-emergency-2017-7
https://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2017/05/17/new-report-says-total-marijuana-demand-tops-ice-cream/#2281c7825b5e
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-are-running-out-of-pot-in-opening-week/2017/12/06/66089250-da9a-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html?utm_term=.9bb8978d3f5c
http://www.businessinsider.com/nevada-marijuana-shortage-statement-of-emergency-2017-7
http://www.newsweek.com/nevada-marijuana-legalization-laws-sales-635070
https://mjbizdaily.com/washington-state-cannabis-supply-hits-new-low-spurs-calls-change/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uruguay-marijuana-legalization-pot-shortage-demand-outpaces-farmers/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/pot-news/nevada-marijuana-industry-growth-has-state-scrambling-to-catch-up/