Skip to content

Where Recreational Cannabis is Legal:


United States Recreational Cannabis Legalization

In these states, Marijuana has been made legal and commercial markets for trade are proliferating. Products and consumption are fully legal for adults and states have set up regulatory structures that regulate Marijuana like alcohol. In these states the commercial marketplace has taken off and is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.

Greenwave advisors turned heads earlier this year when it released a report saying that legal cannabis could be an industry with revenues of $35 billion by 2020. According to the Washington Post, that would make this industry bigger than the NFL ($10 billion) and the confection industry ($34 billion). That same report said that even if federal prohibition does not end and only 12 states legalize and 37 states legalize medical marijuana, the market would still be $21 billion.

According to ArcView Market Research, the legal wholesale and retail cannabis industry already reached $1.5 billion in 2013. ArcView is also reporting that the industry will hit $2.6 billion in revenue this year and forecasts the industry to grow 700% to $10.2 billion by 2018.

While estimating marijuana’s market size is tricky as little data is publicly available and businesses are closely held, it is widely believed that the market will expand if the move for legalization continues on the state and federal level.