U.S. presidential election results might not be decided but 5 states have voted to legalize cannabis including Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Mississippi.

Wasting no time, multi-state operator (MSO) Ayr Strategies of New York, announced an $81 million investment into Arizona’s cannabis markets a day after the election, picking up cultivation, processing, and dispensary facilities. Ayr Strategies recently tweeted that this investment brings its operations into five states including Nevada, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio but it also appears to have a footprint in Colorado through its CannaPunch brand. This expansion will open Ayr to up to 43 million people across five states – larger than all of Canada’s population. Ayr Strategies doesn’t appear to have any published patents or patent applications in the U.S., so they will have to play catch-up like Aurora Cannabis is doing.       

Other MSOs have done the same. Before the measures were even voted on in New Jersey, NY-based MSO Acreage Holdings, recently acquired by Canopy Growth Corporation, invested $10 million to acquire one of twelve licensed New Jersey medical marijuana businesses, Compassionate Care Foundation, and wants to triple cultivation in anticipation of recreational cannabis legalization. Acreage is definitely well-poised to do so, especially with the help of Canopy Growth Corporation. 

As of November 2020, Canopy Growth Corporation is the third-largest patent holder in the Magic Number® Cannabis Patent Forecast®. A few years ago, Canopy Growth only owned US patents through its acquisition of ebbu, Inc. but has since come out of the rut to become a leading player, developing technology in all of the Patent Forecast® categories besides Sobriety Testing and Compliance Technology.   

We are witnessing the green rush in America. Investors from all around want in on the U.S. cannabis industry and are strategically staking their places now. Depending on who controls the Senate, a democratic president could progress cannabis reform, so cannabis investors and entrepreneurs may have more to look forward to in the next four years.

Learn more about the ever-growing cannabis industry using the Cannabis Patent Forecast®. Market data and patent activity are combined into useful insights and graphics for a deeper look into the future and direction of the cannabis sector. Start your free trial today!