Marijuana in the U.S. will become a $44 billion a year industry by 2020, according to a Monday report by Marijuana Business Daily.
Currently, the cannabis industry in the U.S. is projected to be anywhere between $14-$17 billion in 2016. If existing economic and legal trends continue at the current rates, the industry will skyrocket to $24-$44 billion by 2020, retail sales in 2020 will comprise $6.1-$11 billion of that total. The growth of retail sales is estimated to jump by 17-26 percent compared to 2015 sales.
By 2020, retail sales of recreational marijuana will, for the first time, surpass sales of medical marijuana based on projections.
Comparatively, wine is only a $37.6 billion dollar industry in the U.S., meaning that by 2020, cannabis could surge past wine as well as organic food, a $35.9 billion industry.
“The projections reflect marijuana’s march towards the mainstream as it emerges from the shadows to become a respectable, above-board industry that is giving birth to scores of jobs, fostering new business opportunities and creating a broad ripple effect across the country,” Chris Walsh, managing editor of Marijuana Business Daily, said in a statement.
“We’re witnessing the emergence of a business that is about to become a massive economic force. These figures, which we deem conservative, show not only how important the industry already is to the U.S economy at large, but also how much more important it is about to become,” Walsh added.
Vermont exemplifies a part of the expected legalization trend moving forward. Later this month, lawmakers will look at a bill legalizing recreational marijuana for adults over 21 and taxing the drug at 25 percent. Tax revenue will then be used to fund law enforcement activities.
Four states and the District of Columbia now have recreational marijuana laws — all those states achieved the legalization of marijuana through ballot initiatives. If the bill passes muster in Vermont, it would be the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under federal law, but the Obama administration has looked the other way as states decide whether or not to legalize the drug.
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