Since recreational pot was legalized in California on Jan 1st of 2018, its citizens have witnessed intriguing developments of the already popular cannabis industry. New verticals, products, and services have been popping up all across the state (and the country).

Pot farmers, pot deliverers, dispensaries, edible producers, startups trying to service the cannabis players, hospitality industry offering cannabis tours, etc. And the list is only expected to get longer.

This year, the International Cannabis Business Conference is happening in San Francisco in February. It is suitable as SF is the technology hub of the world and legalization of cannabis there unsurprisingly would lead to the rise of new, relevant opportunities to expand and transform a fast-evolving industry.

So, what have we seen so far in this space?

All-in-one cannabis shops

What’s unique about California is that the new legalization laws allow the dispensaries to actually serve and allow consumption of weed onsite as long as it meets each city’s fire and safety codes. Out of the 10 states which have legalized recreational weed, only California has these stipulations.

This led to dispensaries, there are 46 in San Francisco today with additional 47 applications in review, creating a new kind of social lounges where you can learn about, buy, consume, and share cannabis all at once.

West Hollywood took the lead initially by issuing 8 licenses early on for smoking lounges and we saw some amazing, never-seen-before lounges opened up such as this cannabis dispensary in West Hollywood with bars and other facilities to integrate cannabis further into the culture and social fabric in California.

We see now San Francisco following suit with 10 lounges and counting. It is quickly reshaping the cultural landscape.

Cannabis tours

The hospitality industry did not miss this opportunity to provide unique tours that most people cannot get anywhere else in the world. Cannabis farm and dispensary tours instantly became popular among the curious visitors want to experience the booming world of cannabis.

City tours with a visit to cannabis lounges and weed (instead of ‘wine’) country tours are on the rise. Sonoma and Napa Valley, the most popular tour spots in the bay area, have also embraced this movement and quickly integrated cannabis into the wine culture, offering weed and wine tours. This trend is expected to grow exponentially as now restaurants and the edible producers try to reach wider customer segments in this new (legalized) industry.

After years of cannabis enthusiasts hunting down the underground cannabis culinary scenes, now restaurants and culinary experimentalists can openly offer the wider public a new cuisine with endless possibilities. Given the various forms in which cannabis can be consumed, we know the cannabis industry is only going to produce more, never-before-imagined products we will be able to enjoy.

Cannabis deliveries

If it exists, it should be deliverable. That’s the motto of our century. While the cannabis lounges and tours are definitely successful at luring us out of our homes, cannabis deliveries also have expanded to make the consumption far more convenient when we’re feeling lazy.

The explosion of cannabis delivery services in SF shows how much demand for weed there was way before legalization. Since the inception of the Adult Use of Mairjuana Act (Proposition 64), California has seen about a 6% uptick in marijuana use among adults.

These delivery services range from instant delivery within the local dispensaries to deliveries from available dispensaries across the entire state, expanding the options available to consumers much more quickly. Some offer more specialized services for those who need medicinal marijuana so that they are able to make decisions based on their pain and conditions.