If Marijuana And CBD Were 100% Legal Nationwide It Would Outsell America’s Favorite Desert

The growth of the marijuana industry is so rapid that if it were to be legalized by the government, it would probably sell more than ice cream. According to a report from “Marijuana Business Daily”, the total marijuana demand plus the black market is about $45-$50 billion.

The annual sale from ice cream is only about $5.1 billion. With this estimate, the total sale of recreational cannabis in the US would be more than the sales from movie tickets which is $11.1 billion including certain snacks like Cheetos, Doritos and Funyuns which is $4.9 billion. With this rate, it will eclipse sales from cigarettes and probably beer in no time. And, if you add in CBD oil sale for popular products such as CBD Essence and others,  the figures would be even higher.

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With the position of things, sales from medical and legal recreational cannabis in 2016 were about $4.0-$4.5 billion. This is more than what was derived from streaming of paid music, which were about $2.5 billion as well as sale of girls scout cookies at about $776 million. The employment figures are another indication of how far the industry has grown. According to the report, the cannabis sector is responsible for the employment of about 165,000 and 230,000 full time as well as part time staff. “To put this in perspective, there are now more marijuana workers than there are bakers or massage therapists in the United States,” stated the report. It is even higher than the employment recorded by dental hygienists.

Let us not forget the domino effect of these jobs. According to the report, all these employees spend a huge portion of their earnings on food, housing, travel as well as entertainment, which does a lot for local businesses. The start of these cannabis businesses has resulted in a boom in real estates in places that used to be vacant. Also, tourism is generating a lot of travel dollars from all these states.

According to the report, $3 is recorded as economic benefit across cities and states nationwide for every $1 spent by consumers at dispensaries. States as well as Local municipalities are using the marijuana tax receipts to boost their budgets, carrying out repairs on infrastructures and improving schools.

The one damper on all these is the shadow cast over the industry by the election of President Donald Trump. Although a lot of companies are going about their normal business, Walsh stated that it is definitely a major cause of concern for companies. The increased level of enforcement from the Justice Department would affect future sales.