XPost: alt.support.marijuana, alt.economics   
   From: a425couple@hotmail.com   
      
   The Year Ahead: Cannabis Legalization in 2018   
      
   Legal marijuana sales are booming with no end in sight, with the very   
   possible exception of a renewed federal crackdown.   
      
     Chicago Voters Will Soon Tell Illinois Lawmakers If They Favor   
   Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis   
      
   The Year Ahead: Cannabis Legalization in 2018 Image credit: digihelion |   
   Getty Images   
      
   dispensaries.com   
   dispensaries.com • Guest Writer   
   				   
   A report came out in December about marijuana sales closing in on the   
   $10 billion mark in North America this year. Notably, it didn’t set off   
   a huge round of discussion in the media.   
      
   For the record, that $9.7 billion in 2017 legal marijuana sales is a 33   
   percent jump over 2016 but it’s kind of like that Pentagon UFO video.   
   People just seemed to shrug and move on with holiday shopping.   
      
   The cannabis numbers, based on a report from Arcview Market Research,   
   got the same type of greeting. No one is surprised the industry is   
   booming, and everyone expects even more staggering numbers when   
   California and Massachusetts start sales in 2018.   
      
   Related: Entrepreneurs See Opportunity Addressing Consumer Demand for   
   Pesticide-Free Cannabis   
      
   California sales begin   
   California begins legal recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1. The   
   state just recently granted licenses to dispensaries, so it might be a   
   bit hard to find initially. Some cities, such as San Francisco where   
   sales won’t begin until Jan. 6, will lag in allowing legal sales. But   
   eventually, the state is expected to become one of the biggest – perhaps   
   the biggest – recreational marijuana market in the world. Some estimate   
   that market at $5 billion.   
      
   And Massachusetts, too   
   Lost in all the justifiable talk about California is the fact that   
   Massachusetts is set to begin recreational marijuana sales in April   
   2018. Massachusetts already has jumped ahead on the idea of creating   
   cannabis cafes that will allow residents to buy and use marijuana   
   products outside of their homes. The state also has the distinction of   
   creating the first legal adult-use market in the U.S. east of the   
   Mississippi River.   
      
   Chicago will send message   
   Voters in Chicago and Cook County, Ill., will get a chance to make their   
   voice heard on legalization of marijuana in an advisory referendum to be   
   held March 20. Advisory referendum is another way of saying “it doesn’t   
   count,” at least not in terms of changing current law. But marijuana   
   supporters hope that if Cook County voters say they approve of   
   recreational marijuana, it will send a message to Illinois lawmakers to   
   pass a proposed bill creating a legal adult-use cannabis market in   
   Illinois. Of course, it could also go the other way.   
   Related: Chicago Voters Will Soon Tell Illinois Lawmakers If They Favor   
   Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis   
      
   Jeff Sessions may not give up   
   Many, many words were spoken and typed in 2017 about U.S. Attorney   
   General Jeff Sessions' opposition to legal marijuana. The crackdown on   
   states that allow marijuana sales hasn't happened but that doesn’t mean   
   it won’t. The ongoing threat of a federal crackdown has not dampened   
   growth in the marijuana industry, however. For investors and business   
   leaders, that’s the bottom line -- so far.   
      
   Canada legalizes nationwide - probably   
   The decision to make adult-use marijuana legal nationwide in Canada was   
   one of the big stories in 2017. But putting that system in place by the   
   July 2018 deadline is a challenge. Some Canadian provinces have asked   
   for more time to set up regulated systems, and Prime Minister Justin   
   Trudeau recently said “the date will not be July 1, I assure you of   
   that.” He did, however, say he expected the system to be set up “next   
   summer.” Meanwhile, conservative politicians have done all they can to   
   put off the final vote on the issue for as long as possible.   
      
    From Los Angeles and Chicago to Boston and Toronto, millions will have   
   their lives affected by the legal marijuana movement. How all of it   
   turns out in 2018 is just a matter of waiting and seeing.   
      
   Follow dispensaries.com on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest   
   cannabis news.   
      
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