Legal marijuana sales hit nearly $6 billion in the US in 2016
As states continue to legalize marijuana, sales of cannabis products continue to rise higher and higher. According to Forbes, this year was a banner year in the US, where legal sales of pot rose to $5.8 billion in 2016, up from $5.4 billion the previous year, and $4.6 billion in 2014.
In North America, legal weed sales rose 30% to $6.7 billion. Forbes cited a report by Arcview Market Research in disclosing the numbers. In it, legal sales of pot were projected to top $20.2 billion by 2021, assuming a compound annual growth rate of 25%.
The legal weed industry is growing faster than even the dot com boom, and is comparable only to the growth of cable television in the 1990s and broadband internet in the 2000s, according to Arcview’s editor-in-chief, Tom Adams.
The study noted that with states like California, Maine and Massachusetts now allowing recreational marijuana use, and with Canada moving towards legalization, growth is inevitable. The story also cited the rise of edible products and concentrates as alternates to traditional smoking, which also accounts for more sales as the products become more acceptable.
Even with a more conservative incoming administration to the US, proponents are confident sales will keep rising as more states adopt legalization of recreational use.