Canopy Growth and Constellation Brands Say Cannabis Will Cost More Than $ 200 Billion

The leaders of the cannabis company Hot Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC) and its leading partner Constellation Brands (STZ) say that legal weed products will ultimately account for at least $ 200 billion – and could even disrupt $ 500 billion in business sectors.

"Our view is that in the next 10 years it will be a $ 200 billion global business, and some would say [that’s] Saturday, Constellation Operations Chief Bill Newlands said at Jim Cramer's Boot Camp for Investors in New York.

Constellation, which owns brands of alcoholic beverages such as Corona beer and Robert Mondavi wines, recently paid $ 4 billion to increase its ownership interest in Canopy Growth to 38%. The company has also purchased mandates giving it the opportunity to increase its interest in the future.

"If you said 10 years ago:" Would we have the same discussion today? "We would all have said," No, we would not have been, "said Newlands to Cramer. "But the market is moving, consumer perception is shifting and, in our opinion, it will happen. [Cannabis] will be legal in most countries around the world in a relatively short period of time ".

Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth, who appeared with Newlands, said that weed-related products could potentially disrupt up to $ 500 billion a year in various businesses, far beyond passive smoking. These included:

• Alcohol. The CEO said that Canopy Growth could create an alternative to drinks like wine "If we produce a drink without calories, it has a very fast appearance. [of psychoactive effects] and it tastes good. "

• Aids to sleep. Linton Canopy Growth has currently launched a medical trial for the use of a cannabis-related product to treat insomnia, which he termed "multi-billion dollar segment"

• Drugs for lack of appetite. The propensity of marijuana to promote "cravings" is well known, but Linton said it could make it a great drug for cancer patients with no appetite.

• Sports drinks. Linton said that since cannabis has potential anti-inflammatory properties, "why should not there be a drink that will be absolutely disruptive?" [to] Gatorade? "

• Drugs against arthritis, fibromyalgia and the like. "We will not solve the problem, but we will [potentially] make the symptoms a lot less. "

• Take care of an animal. Linton said all the legal medicinal properties of the weed should theoretically work as well on domestic animals as dogs as on humans. "If you have an old dog and you are old [too]A guy has two legs and the other has four legs, but after that, there is a lot more in common than differences. "

"Suddenly, you start adding up these categories [and] it's a huge segment of 500 billion dollars in business, "he said.

Newlands added that there was no evidence that increased use of recreational marijuana would reduce the Constellation alcohol trade. He pointed out that consumers were ingesting illegal cannabis for decades without evidence that people drink less alcohol as a result.

(Jerry Kronenberg contributed to this report.)