"Farms got stuck sitting on product, which hit the bottom line for smaller operators that don’t have the wiggle room of the bigger, well-financed farms," Full Moon Farms owner Nik Erickson says. That's just the start of it. California cannabis growers are facing "a recipe for disaster" this year, with a spectrum of economic pressures bearing down on the still-fledgling market. According to Jocelyn Sheltraw, Director of Industry Relations for Headset, the biggest hurdles for California’s licensed cannabis businesses are: - an imbalance between supply and demand, - wholesale price compression, - a declining market share for flower, - high taxes, - and a still-thriving illicit market. Sheltraw outlined those concerns in a March interview with Senior Digital Editor Melissa Schiller. And yet similar warning shots were fired by industry observers even in early 2018, shortly after adult-use sales began in California. What needs to change? What has changed, if anything, in California's cannabis market? We're interested in stitching together the complicated story of cannabis in California, and we'd like to hear from YOU. Give us a shout on social media this week to let us know what you're dealing with this spring. There's optimism in the air, certainly, but there's plenty of work to do yet. - Eric Sandy, Digital Editor |