Current Valuation & Growth Potential, Las Vegas, Nevada, NV

Published by New Frontier Data, the 2017 executive summary probes the industry’s projected market growth, employment opportunities, and marijuana’s potential role as a key revenue source for states and municipalities. Additionally, the report identifies last year (2016) as a turning point for cannabis legalization and contemplates the industry’s uncertain future under the current administration.

Dissected and disseminated for ease of ingestion, the company offers one noteworthy disclaimer:

“Projections are based solely on the state markets that passed medical and adult use legalization initiatives as of January 2017, and do not include assumptions for any additional states which may pass legalization measures before 2025.”

Caveat given, according to the company’s 2017 report, the total legal marijuana market in the U.S. is projected to cultivate some sobering revenue by 2025 – hitting $24.1 billion.

Legal Marijuana Market Growth Spurt

Total US legal cannabis market 2016 and 2025

U.S. Marijuana market anticipated to reach $24.1 billion by 2025

Worth an estimated $4.7 billion in 2016, America’s medical marijuana market is anticipated to top out at $13.2 billion by 2025. And fueled by America’s changing demographics, the report projects that recreational sales will hit $10.9 billion during the same period.

Growth of legal medical and adult use cannabis sales 2016 - 2025

Both medical and adult-use marijuana sales are projected to grow substantially

American Attitudes Toward Marijuana

Majority of Americans support some form of marijuana reform.

While not all Americans agree that marijuana “should be legalized, regulated, and taxed like cigarettes and alcohol,” the majority of respondents participating in the January survey thought it should. For the survey, Full Circle Research conducted a national poll of 1,671 adults, and found that 55 percent support the outright legalization of recreational marijuana — leaving just nine percent of the respondents in opposition to reform.

Only 9% of those surveyed believe marijuana should remain illegal.

Cannabis Job Sector of the Future

2020 Cannabis industry potential job creation

Marijuana’s future job sector.

Based on a modeling of Colorado’s legal marijuana industry and its growth pattern, New Frontier Data estimates that by 2020 the legal cannabis industry could potentially create over 280,000 jobs in states which currently have medical or adult-use laws on the books.

Marijuana: A Prescription for Life

Annual number of daily prescribed per physician

States with reformed marijuana laws see fewer pharmaceuticals prescribed

Per the report, cannabis offers a potential solution for America’s addiction to pharmaceutical drugs:

“As presented last month, a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) has found conclusive and substantial evidence that cannabis can be effective in treating the symptoms associated with chronic pain, the primary reason for which opioids are prescribed. Furthermore, a 2016 study by the University of Georgia found an 11% reduction in annual drug prescriptions in states legalizing medical cannabis as compared to those which prohibit it.”

Legalization Reaches Across the Political Divide

A noteworthy result of the 2016 general election was the legalization initiatives passed in traditionally red states. After casting their ballots for Donald J. Trump as POTUS, voters in states like Arkansas, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Montana also passed medical marijuana initiatives by a respectable margin.