Over $53 Billion Spent on Cannabis in North America Last Year!
According to a report just released from Arcview Market Research, legal cannabis sales are slowly siphoning the product – and the profit – off the illicit market. Each day more consumers choose to patronize their local dispensaries rather than their local underground dealer. According to the report, Americans and their Canadian counterparts spent $53.3 billion total on cannabis in 2016, but only $6.7 billion in the legal North American market.
Troy Dayton, CEO of Arcview Market Research, gave an interview earlier this week to Business Insider on what he sees happening.
“The enormous amount of existing, if illicit, consumer spending sets cannabis apart from most other major consumer-market investment opportunities throughout history,” Dayton said in a statement. Unlike other fast-growing markets, which include organic foods, home video, and mobile, “the cannabis industry doesn’t need to create demand for a new product or innovation — it just needs to move demand for an already widely-popular product into legal channels.”…Dayton said the sudden popularity of alternative ingestion methods — such as weed-laced topicals, sprays, and edibles — also fueled growth in the legal market. Consumers who would never smoke a joint are finding relief in other products, which offer a wide array of tastes, strengths, and experiences.
Indeed, the possibilities of innovation seem endless. With a willing consumer base and the green light to bring marijuana production out of the closet, the passage of Prop 64 in California is going to have a serious impact on the economy. Legalizing cannabis in the world’s sixth-largest economy will present great opportunities for cannabis industry participants. Entrepreneurs couldn’t ask for a better time to be part of an untapped market, but now is the time to make a plan if one is to be successful. Prepare yourself to be part of the new green economy by registering today for the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco on February 17th, 2017.
ArcView, California, ICBC, International Cannabis Business Conference, San Francisco
