Can Canada Be A Predictor Of NYS Marijuana Profits?

Canadians greeted the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018 with a great deal of excitement...but was there a financial payoff?

"It's not what people thought it would be, at least not yet," Kyle Murray, Vice Dean at the University of Alberta School of Business, said.

WKBW-TV reported that according to Professor Murray, the legalization initially sparked a rush to capitalize on potential earnings, but the Canadian market just never caught up. The New York Times reports many large cannabis producers lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020.

"The demand side has a lot to do with it," Murray said, "Over time it will stabilize, but over the short term there was probably too much hype initially."

Lawmakers in Albany are hoping for a much different outcome in New York estimating legalization of marijuana will instantly create a much-needed source of new tax revenue every year totaling $350 million.

Professor Murray says the slow progress of the cannabis industry in Canada doesn't mean those profits aren't attainable. Statistics Canada says cannabis sales in Canada rose 120% from 2019 to 2020. Murray says the hesitance of the market has begun to settle.

"Stigma goes down, new customers get introduced to it and the market will come up a bit," Murray said.

READ MORE: The Motley Fool recently looked at some stocks that could show promise with the legalization of marijuana in New York.