Over 200,000 full-time jobs and growing — that’s the impact cannabis is having on our economy. This data didn’t come from the US government, but from a study reported in Leafly, the largest cannabis website in the world.

To find out what’s in store for cannabis packaging by 2025, I delved into the subject with a group of packaging experts. Why 2025 you ask? It’s the year many brands such as Nestlé, Aldi and even Pepsi are targeting for their packaging to be 100% recyclable or reusable, so it’ll be a milestone year for packaging.

At PROCESS EXPO, several education sessions will offer insights from cannabis experts discussing food safety, government regulations, sustainability and cost savings that can be implemented for immediate returns.

When I was growing up, as many of you I’m sure, I would never have guessed that cannabis would be legalized. Back then it was taboo, worse than alcohol and seen as another drug on the streets. Remember the commercial, “This is your brain on drugs,” with the eggs frying in a pan?

Tikun Olam has launched Tikun Hemp, its first hemp-based product line that includes broad-spectrum CBD tinctures, topicals and softgel capsules.

Growpacker Inc., a contract manufacturer of THC and CBD-infused edibles and beverages in the U.S., has launched Cannasafe, a child-resistant lid for aluminum cans containing THC-infused beverages.

Mike Seidman has joined Flexible Pack as Vice President of Operations, where he will responsible for all manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain efforts.

Dixie Brands Inc. has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Aceso Wellness LLC. is expanding its line-up of hemp-infused wellness products, with a line of dissolvable drink tablets and a new topical balm. 

Specialty retailer Barneys New York plans to open The High End, a luxury cannabis lifestyle and wellness concept shop. The High End will open in Barneys New York's Beverly Hills flagship store in March, featuring an exclusive partnership with cannabis company Beboe.

STO Responsible gives cannabis companies answer to packaging problems. The product line is made with an oxygen-driven additive in the material allowing it to degrade safely without harming the environment, and the packaging is also child-resistant and pet-resistant.