{"id":796,"date":"2016-04-10T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T19:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=796"},"modified":"2016-04-08T09:58:29","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T16:58:29","slug":"legal-marijuana-sales-reach-25-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-marijuana-sales-reach-25-billion\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Marijuana Sales Could Reach $25 billion by 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With explosive sales growth in the states where legal marijuana sales have occurred for medical and recreational use, analysts now project the cannabis industry could become a $25 billion business by 2020.<\/p>\n<p>That number goes even higher \u2013 to $35 billion \u2013if all 50 states make marijuana sales legal.<\/p>\n<p>Those projections first came to widespread attention in a report from the Wall Street Journal\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/Story\/Story\/?guid=%7BD4CA936E-2B10-11E5-90A1-4AE15AC6FD58%7D\" target=\"_blank\">Marketwatch<\/a> site, which quoted projections made by GreenWave Advisors, a company that tracks marijuana sales in the states and the District of Columbia where it has been legalized.<\/p>\n<h2>Legal Marijuana Sales Flying High<\/h2>\n<p>The numbers are staggering. Colorado, which legalized marijuana in 2014, has surpassed sales of $305 million. In Washington, sales have topped $180 million in the first year of legalized sales.<\/p>\n<p>The surge in sales is happening because a formerly black market business is now regulated, according to Marketwatch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs was the case in advance of the federal repeal of alcohol prohibition, there is a landscape of opportunity in states that allow for the use of recreational or medical marijuana,\u201d Steve Gormley, chief business development officer at OSL Holdings, told Marketwatch.<\/p>\n<h3>Latest Report<\/h3>\n<p>In its report at the end of 2015, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenwaveadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EXECSUMMARYWITHCOVER2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">GreenWave Advisors<\/a> found that sales have remained strong, particularly in Colorado and Washington.<\/p>\n<p>The company also expects Congress, even with a Republican majority, to consider reforming laws pertaining to the sale of medical marijuana. GreenWave also anticipates that more doctors will prescribe medical marijuana as more precise dosing becomes the norm.<\/p>\n<p>They also projected the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$4.8 billion in sales in 2015<\/li>\n<li>$6.3 billion in sales in 2016<\/li>\n<li>$20 billion in sales by 2019<\/li>\n<li>$25 billion in sales by 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Much of the growth depends on how many states follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/\">Marijuana dispensaries<\/a> also are grappling with issues involving analytics \u2013 which is improving \u2013 and banking, which is still up in the air.<\/p>\n<h3>Data Improves<\/h3>\n<p>There are data analytics companies cropping up to support dispensaries with the kind of in-depth data used in other industries.<\/p>\n<p>Those numbers include wholesale pricing data, investment statistics, point-of-sale data and benchmark performance information. The data analytic companies include BDS Analytics and New Leaf Data Services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe data side is going to look more like it looks in other industries. We\u2019re just playing catch-up now,\u201d Roy Bingham, CEO of BDS Analytics, told <a href=\"http:\/\/mjbizdaily.com\/number-crunchers-data-analytics-companies-cropping-cannabis-industry\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marijuana Business Daily.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Banks Still an Issue<\/h3>\n<p>Most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/banks-wont-touch-marijuana\/\">banks still will not take deposits from marijuana sales<\/a>, although some in Congress have been working to change federal banking laws on this issue. While marijuana is still listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the federal government, there are changes that are making it somewhat easier for dispensaries.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the U.S. Treasury Department has provided guidelines for banks that want to deal with dispensaries, helping to potentially clear the way for changes, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/17\/business\/dealbook\/as-marijuana-sales-grow-start-ups-step-in-for-wary-banks.html\" target=\"_blank\">New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Also small start-ups have been founded to help dispensaries track transactions and move it away from a strictly cash business. A few credit unions and small banks also are now opening accounts for dispensaries that perform legal marijuana sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the recent boom in legal marijuana sales the cannabis industry may reach $25 Billion by 2020. A staggering statistic that rivals many industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[50,34,70,49,67,75],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Legal Marijuana Sales May Reach $25 billion by 2020 | Cannabis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the recent boom in legal marijuana sales the cannabis industry may reach $25 Billion by 2020. 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