The Wall Street Journal this morning reports that Constellation Brands, which distributes Corona beer in the US, “has agreed to take a 9.9% stake in Canopy Growth Corp., a Canadian marijuana company, and plans to work with the grower to develop and market cannabis-infused beverages … Constellation - flush with cash after posting a 13% increase in beer sales in its latest quarter - is interested in developing drinkable cannabis products that don’t contain alcohol, he said. Products currently on the market in U.S. states where they are legal include buzz-inducing sodas, coffees and fruit elixirs.”
However, Constellation reportedly plans to wait until marijuana is legalized nationally in the US before launching any such venture.
Rob Sands, Constellation’s CEO, explains the movie this way: “We’re obviously trying to get first-mover advantage.”
Canopy Growth is described as “the world’s largest publicly traded cannabis company, with a market valuation of 2.2 billion Canadian dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange.” The story notes that “medical use of marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. The country is expected to legalize recreational use, not including edibles, by July 2018, with edible and drinkable products expected to become legal the following year. In the U.S., eight states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana, and more than 20 states have legalized it for medical purposes.”
However, Constellation reportedly plans to wait until marijuana is legalized nationally in the US before launching any such venture.
Rob Sands, Constellation’s CEO, explains the movie this way: “We’re obviously trying to get first-mover advantage.”
Canopy Growth is described as “the world’s largest publicly traded cannabis company, with a market valuation of 2.2 billion Canadian dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange.” The story notes that “medical use of marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. The country is expected to legalize recreational use, not including edibles, by July 2018, with edible and drinkable products expected to become legal the following year. In the U.S., eight states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana, and more than 20 states have legalized it for medical purposes.”
- KC's View:
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The only real problem with this move will be that some will see it as being politically incorrect. But I think that it is the kind of move that pretty much every beverage company would like to make. And probably not just beverage companies.
I just don’t think the folks at Constellation should hold their breath waiting for national legalization. The Trump administration, especially Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seems hostile to the notion, and even inclined to take action against the states that have legalized it. It likely is going to be awhile.
