Cannabis and Social Media Trends You Need To Know
Happy Black History Month! Without further ado, I have the latest cannabis and social media trends for you. If you’re looking for more info, I’d recommend some of my more recent blog posts, which you can find here, or here.
Introducing Black Cannabis Farmers
To kick off Black History Month, I wanted to share a piece about Black Cannabis farmers. Specifically, Damian Fagon, founder and head farmer of Gullybean, a hemp farm.
Learn about Damian's story and how his entrepreneurial journey could lead to more Black and Brown people gaining access to a growing, multi-billion dollar industry.
"The people who've had access to growing cannabis own farms, and they own land, and they live in communities that have very traditional agricultural roots," said Damian. "And only 2% of farmers nationally are Black, and so the disparities that already existed in agriculture and land access are just being amplified in the cannabis space.
Want to learn more? Watch BIPOCANN Founder Ernest Toney and I talk about his company’s efforts to shape a more equitable and profitable cannabis industry for BIPOC business owners and professionals
Two Years After Illinois’ Cannabis Market Goes Recreational
As of January 1st, 2022, Illinois has completed two years of legal recreational cannabis sales. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is expected to pull upwards of $1.3 billion in revenue through legal cannabis sales for 2021.
The NACB shares their insights and predictions for legal cannabis in Illinois for 2022, including:
Grants that will support programs meant to reinvest in communities.
A plethora of new dispensary licenses in the state.
A rethinking of cannabis laws for licenses and drug testing policies in the state for the years to come.
Hybrid Shopping Trends In 2022
Finally, I wanted to share more from G2's 2022 Digital Trends series, specifically around hybrid shopping. We've seen this trend before when it comes to new ways for consumers to buy products, through things like subscriptions for products and services (like the new Taco Bell "taco pass"), curbside pickup, self-checkout, and buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS).
No surprise, but consumers are comfortable purchasing via e-commerce and in-store retail. Brands don't need to be mutually exclusive though, with some of the most successful brands doing both well, with NRF data indicating 9 of the 10 top e-commerce websites being managed by companies with brick-and-mortar locations.
Until next time!
