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Cannabis
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there.”
Sanders agreed. “I personally think the biggest
move you can make to convert non-cannabis users to cannabis is this one-on-one experience, people telling people, or people coming in and finding relief from something — maybe sleep issues or aches and pains. And when you convert one person, they tell someone, and then they tell someone.”
Business Is Blooming
It’s been fulfilling to see the industry grow, Foster said — not to mention a boost to his own profes- sional practice.
“The big uncertainty now is what consolidation in this industry is going to look like, and when is it going to happen. Everyone knows big players are going to come in and buy up companies and create brands that stretch across the nation; it’s already occurring, though not a lot ... yet.”
But as more investors become comfortable with industry — there’s that idea of breaking through stig- ma again — that consolidation will happen, he went on. Drawing on the beer industry, he noted there’s no Anheuser-Busch in cannabis yet — it’s all micro- breweries, so to speak. But even when large, national companies spread across the space, there will always be room for the boutique experience, for small com- panies that continue to research and promote the effects of new and different strains.
Research that is not currently happening to the degree it could because much research, especially clinical research at universities, is dependent on ... wait for it ... federal funding.
But once that research takes off and the cannabis
industry escapes the shackles of federal illegality — a development that industry players generally agree will happen at some point — the products will con- tinue to become more legitimized in the public eye, and the potential customer base will expand.
“People are asking, is the industry tapped out? No, I’m not seeing that,” Foster said. “Every busi- ness that opens up has a line out the door, and every
“
move you can make to convert non- cannabis users to cannabis is this one-on-one experience, people telling people, or people coming in and finding relief from something.
facility that opens up can sell everything it makes. So, we have not reached a point of saturation by any means.”
That ever-expanding competition is another chal- lenge, Sanders said, but one that should benefit all players because it further legitimizes the products
in more people’s minds. But it also means individual businesses need to work harder to stand out. Canna does that with a strong focus on the individual expe- rience and locally sourced products — including its own brand, Smash — with interesting, local stories behind them.
“There’s more good people than not in this space,
and we owe it to consumers who are cannabis- curious to put our best foot forward and make sure they have as much information about our products as possible, so they don’t have any unexpected reac- tions,” she said. “Our commitment is to great prod- ucts we can tell a story about, that we understand and respect and can get behind and provide the best experience we can possibly provide, and educate our customers.”
Insa, which has a production facility in Easthamp- ton and four dispensaries across the region, includ- ing a flagship store in Springfield, has also expanded nationally, with a production facility in Pennsylvania selling to about 100 dispensaries and a Florida license to build a production site and medical dispensaries. And Gallagher embraces the growing competition in all those regions.
“The way we look at it, this is a much bigger industry than exists today,” he said. “If we all do a good job and operate responsibly and create good quality products, it will encourage more people to enter the industry and experiment and try it, and this will get much, much bigger. A rising tide lifts all boats, and as long as you have good, responsible players in the market, it’s going to be a benefit to everyone.”
Still, he added, “it’s a tough business. One of the common misperceptions is, people think it’s going to be easy. But it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do. You have to be on it every day. And when you’re dealing with any biological product, the number of variables to control are immense. So it’s extremely challenging.
“But it’s been great,” he added. “The relation- ships we’ve built along the way have been fantastic. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Except, of course, for some pesky federal laws. u
I personally think the biggest
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CANNABIS
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