POLITICAL:

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released its 2021 World Drug Report, which highlighted shifts in global perceptions and usage of cannabis. The report claimed that lower risk perception has led to higher rates of usage, which they linked to mental health disorders, though without citing a source to establish this linkage.

SOCIAL:

The 2021 ‘Seeds of Change’ report measuring business equity in cannabis-legal states found that most did not measure up. In general, policies and laws to create equity in the cannabis industry are lacking, and there is much room to grow in this area.

ENVIRONMENTAL:

Despite public perceptions, cannabis production is not a sustainable industry, and the extreme market expansion of recent months has not helped. Sustainable practices and initiatives are needed in order to avoid pollution and waste.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

What you can’t do: fix your employees’ existential crisis. What you can do: help alleviate it. Harvard Business Review has some tips on how to do so.

ECONOMIC:

Job growth in the cannabis industry is expected to continue, fueled by recreational use and new markets as state laws across the country become less restrictive. At predicted rates, employment figures could double by 2025.

TECHNOLOGY:

Conception Nurseries will provide cannabis clones exclusively to the Cookies Family growers. The TrueClone tissue culture technology in play is the future of cannabis cultivation, on par with advanced commercial agriculture crops.

LEGAL:

Though the Supreme Court declined to hear a new case involving the IRS and the cannabis industry, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a statement condemning the federal government’s contradictory and unstable cannabis policies. Justice Thomas also implied that a national prohibition may be unconstitutional.