Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

The pot industry is having serious problems. The market was not only way overestimated, sales are down.[1]

World's smallest violin plays.

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/de36eb98-f28d-4594-9ae6-624d25802...

This growth story I never understood. The grey market has been extremely saturated for at least 20-30 years - demand can’t really grow from “everyone who wants it has it”. There is barely any value add that a company can do with the raw output (flower). The growing and processing equipment is already a mature market. Growing is easy if you can follow a basic guide and invest $500 in equipment. Harvesting is just cutting it off the plant and putting it up to dry.. The vape cartridges etc, anyone can buy from AliBaba for cents a piece. I just don’t see where you can outcompete a random Joe

Fentanyl contamination is a real concern though.

Why would anyone put fentanyl in weed? The black market does have many negative consequences I agree on that

A competent large scale farmer can outcompete a random Joe, much to the annoyance of the potheads who thought they were going to own the industry. The largest pot operation in California also has tomatoes and cucumbers growing in similar greenhouses.[1][2] Their production cost is down to $103/lb.[2] "For a small farmer, it costs around $500 to grow a pound. It’s barely paying the bills.”[3]

It's commercial agriculture. Go big or go home. The little operations are thus rapidly closing down.

[1] https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/largest-california-c...

[2] https://glasshousebrands.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Q2-2...

[3] https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99944-price-per-...