The emerging cannabis industry is growing exponentially, with billions of dollars in sales annually and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues generated.
With more states and countries in the process of launching legal, regulated cannabis industries the end to growth is nowhere in sight.
Direct cannabis sales and tax revenue generation are not the only economic benefits of cannabis legalization.
The legal cannabis industry creates a robust economic impact in the areas which its allowed to operate in.
A new report estimates what the economic impact of the industry will be by 2022, and the figure is mindblowing.
Cannabis’ economic impact according to the Marijuana Business Factbook
The publishers of Marijuana Business Daily have released their annual Marijuana Business Factbook for 2018.
Their annual publication includes an estimate that the economic impact of the cannabis industry will rise to nearly 80 billion dollars by 2022.
Economic impact measures the butterfly effect that the cannabis industry has throughout the greater economy.
The cannabis industry’s economic impact in 2017 was estimated to be 20-23 billion dollars, so the estimate for 2022 involves an eye-popping amount of growth.
No other industry on the planet is as large and growing as quickly as the emerging cannabis industry, which is tremendously exciting.
How does the cannabis industry benefit local economies?
Below are examples of how the cannabis industry benefits local economies beyond just direct cannabis sales:
- Construction companies are hired to build cultivation facilities
- Dispensaries bring consumers to the area who often also purchase products and services from surrounding businesses
- Accountants are hired to help with bookkeeping and preparing taxes
- Cannabis workers frequent local restaurants
- Printing companies are hired to produce packaging and educational materials
These are just a handful of examples. A complete list would be nearly impossible to compile because the possibilities are virtually endless.
Why isn’t every state embracing legal cannabis?
The cannabis industry in the United States alone has created well over 200,000 jobs, with more being created every day.
Colorado collected over 247 million dollars in tax revenue in just 2017 alone. That’s one state in one year.
With Massachusetts beginning sales this summer, the overall job and tax revenue numbers will continue to climb.
More states will be voting on adult-use or medical use this year, and a growing number of countries are also exploring cannabis reforms.
It’s truly an exciting time to be involved with cannabis, and the future could not be brighter for the plant and those that build businesses around it!
