So all of those people that are breaking leases and can't open up shop are those that wanted to jump in early and get a shop opened up before legalization actually started. I personally know a lot of people that started leasing buildings and investing money into cannabis well over a year ago and they've been paying for it ever since. It's stupid really to invest that much into something that didn't even exist yet and nobody knew what the market would look like. Yes, it has a lot of potential, but the process to get licensed as a distributor is INTENSE and there are huge wait times all around. Nobody started these shops out first unless they had a ton of extra money behind them because they all knew that it could take years before they were able to open up.
We have a few shops around S. Alberta and they all have some stock shortages, but they've always had product since opening. None have run dry.
Can you show me where you see that government started increasing or projecting budgets and cuts based on the cannabis market? I have a hard time believing that ANY government would forecast any kind of revenue 2 months into it's existence, especially for something like pot.
It's obviously going to take time... a lot longer than 2 months before we know exactly where this is going to head. It's quite obvious that there HAS to be a large increase in taxes from this market, based on the large amounts sold up to this point. It's been reproduced in the states and the benefits are huge. You're putting money into local business and into taxes instead of Ralph from down the road that sells pot from his moms basement. It's definitely a win/win and I don't think there are massive amounts of people that never smoke pot that are starting.
I love it. It's legal.