Cannabis Industry Poised to Rise to $70 Billion, Topping Economies of Kenya, Dominican Republic

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By John Harrington Updated Published
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Cannabis Industry Poised to Rise to $70 Billion, Topping Economies of Kenya, Dominican Republic

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The U.S. cannabis industry may grow to as much as a $70 billion by 2021, which would make the sector as big as the economies of the Dominican Republic and Kenya, according to Marijuana Business Daily’s Business Factbook 2017.

The growth estimates bring into sharper focus how marijuana has impacted the local economies in places such as Washington and Colorado, among the first states where it has been legalized.

Estimates published in the recently released report show the total economic impact of legal marijuana sales rising to as much as $68 billion from $16 billion to $18 billion in 2016.

The report says that based on sales of medical and recreational marijuana at the retail level — including flower, infused products and concentrates — the estimates use an economic multiplier of four to quantify the industry’s overall contribution to the economy, showing how revenue generated by cannabis businesses courses through communities.

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The District of Columbia and 26 states have laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form, according to the website for Governing magazine.

Legalization of marijuana has been a tax boon to states such as Colorado, which legalized the sale and possession of marijuana for non-medical uses in November 2012. Colorado has collected more than $142 million in taxes, licenses and fees through May, an increase of 43% year over year.

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Photo of John Harrington
About the Author John Harrington →

I'm a journalist who started my career as a sportswriter, covering professional, college, and high school sports. I pivoted into business news, working for the biggest newspapers in New Jersey, including The Record, Star-Ledger and Asbury Park Press. I was an editor at the weekly publication Crain’s New York Business and served on several editorial teams at Bloomberg News. I’ve been a part of 24/7 Wall St. since 2017, writing about politics, history, sports, health, the environment, finance, culture, breaking news, and current events. I'm a graduate of Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.

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