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The legal cannabis market in the USA
A new forecast predicts that the US cannabis market will be much larger by 2026 and that the vast majority of sales will be done on a legal basis.

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The Grass is looking greener

There was an estimated $31 billion worth of cannabis sales in the U.S. last year (2016), the lion’s share of which was generated through illegal transactions. As states start to legalize the green stuff, though, analysts at Cowen & Co. forecast a vastly different – and larger – landscape come 2026.

In 2016, the legal side of this industry created $6 billion in sales. By 2026, this is projected to shoot up to $50 billion, relegating the illegal sales that were once worth $25 billion to a relatively insignificant level.

The forecast is neatly captured in this infographic from Statista:

Infographic: The Grass Is Looking Greener | Statista You will find more statistics at Statista

 

All infographics are kindly sponsored by Intelligent Fingerprinting whose non-invasive fingerprint drug test has been designed to simplify and support drug screening programmes across a range of applications. IFP has no editorial influence on the contents of this site.

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2 Responses

  1. It really worries me that in the face of overwhelming evidence of how harmful this drug is, the amount of money that may be generated through sales will be constantly put your the fore of any argument. The quoted figures are not proved and the costs to the whole of society are not taken into account. If alcohol and tobacco figures are used objectively then any rational person would see legalisation is a bad decision

    1. Hi Nigel. Thanks very much for your comment. Yes, it does seem that cannabis policy in the future will be clouded by pressure groups and government income from taxation, just as alcohol is now.

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