According to Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, the legalization of marijuana in Canada and some US states constitutes a “new threat to China”, as he attributed, more permissive North American cannabis laws to an uptick in drug smuggling into China. Liu also asserted that the number of cannabis users in China had grown to 24,000 in 2018.

According to The Freedonia Group’s new Global Protective Packaging study, flexible protective packaging is expected to grow rapidly to $16.5 billion in 2023, increasing its share of the protective packaging market along the way.

According to Freedonia’s new Global Countertops study, demand for countertops is anticipated to reach 540 million square meters in 2023. While more basic materials such as solid surface and laminate are expected to remain the most widely installed countertops, higher-end materials such as granite and engineered quartz will continue to account for significant amount of demand.

According to Global Magnets, a new study from The Freedonia Group, hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs) will constitute the fastest growing segment of the nearly $3 billion global automotive magnets market through 2023 – and, in fact, the most robust growth market in the worldwide magnet industry overall.

A new Freedonia Group study covering the $28 billion US window and door market identifies smart glass as an opportunity for window manufacturers to increase the value and functionality of their products.

A recent Packaged Facts analysis of the global market for food e-commerce anticipates intense near-term growth – albeit from a small base – supported in part by packaging innovations that are making online grocery-shopping a more attractive option for retailers and consumers alike. Now available from the Freedonia Group, Food & Beverage Packaging Innovation leverages consumer survey data to identify and analyze the hottest trends in food e-commerce and other food and beverage markets for packaging.

Global electric and hybrid bus demand is forecast to increase 8.8% per annum to 114,200 units in 2023, registering faster growth than all other bus types. The popularity of electric and hybrid models will continue to grow due to their: • limited impact on the environment • greater fuel efficiency than conventional buses • lower fuel and maintenance costs • ability to operate more quietly than combustion engine-driven models

According to Global Water Treatment Equipment & Chemicals, a new industry study from The Freedonia Group, the worldwide water treatment industry was a fragmented $87.8 billion industry in 2018, with the top three suppliers representing less than 8% of all sales.

While the bulk of demand for live plants, shrubs, and trees is generated by rural and suburban homeowners with large yards and high incomes, a new Freedonia Group analysis of the $10.7 billion US market for these goods identifies a number of rising environmental trends among urban dwellers that are expanding sales opportunities in cities – including: • green/vegetative roofing systems and living walls • urban greenspace, park, and community garden and farming projects

Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the production of hemp (or industrial hemp) is legal nationwide, and hemp is removed from the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana, on the other hand, remains illegal at the federal level.