Cannabis industry
The cannabis industry is composed of legal cultivators and producers, consumers, independent industrial standards bodies, ancillary products and services, regulators and researchers concerning cannabis and its industrial derivative, hemp. The cannabis industry has been inhibited by regulatory restrictions for most of recent history, but the legal market has emerged rapidly as more governments legalize medical and adult use. Uruguay became the first country to legalize recreational marijuana through legislation in December, 2013 Cannabis in Uruguay. Canada became the first country to legalize private sales of recreational marijuana with Bill C-45 in 2018 Cannabis in Canada.
Market value
The world economic market has been broken down as follows, showing that the cannabis industry can be considered a multibillion dollar component of a larger pharmaceutical industry. The exact value of cannabis sales worldwide remains unknown as the vast majority of the market remains illicit. With movement around legalisation of Cannabis, it is attracting more investments from alcohol and drug companies.United States
in North America reached $6.7 billion in 2016, representing 30% growth year-over-year. According to a report by university researcher Jon Gettman, cannabis is the United States' largest cash crop and "a pervasive and ineradicable part of the national economy". A 2015 ArcView Group report stated that it was the fastest growing industry in the United States. The industry in the United States is expected to grow from $2 billion in 2014 to as much as $10 billion in 2018, depending on legalization outcomes. By one estimate the industry in the United States could be $35 billion in 2020.According to GQ magazine in mid-2017, it was the second largest cash crop in the U.S., after corn, and worth over $40 billion.
The national hemp market was $600 million in 2015, Accurate predictions of potential future legal markets for hemp are deemed impossible to predict due to "the absence since the 1950s of any commercial and unrestricted hemp production in the
United States".
In a Huffington Post interview, Mark Kleiman, the "Pot Czar" of Washington state, said he was concerned that the National Cannabis Industry Association would favor profits over public health. He also said that it could become a predatory body like the lobbying arms of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Kleiman said: "The fact that the National Cannabis Industry Association has hired itself a K Street Lobbying in the United States|suit is not a good sign."
Uruguay
was legalized for adult use in December, 2013. Sales of marijuana are regulated through government distribution with a state-mandated price of $1.30 per gram. Access to marijuana is legal through four sources: medical marijuana through the Ministry of Health, home-grown marijuana, membership clubs, and sales to adults in drugstores.Canada
Canada became the second country to legalize cannabis for adult use on October 17, 2018 Cannabis in Canada. As of December 2017, there were 79 licensed marijuana producers in Canada with most concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia. According Deloitte, the base retail market is valued at $4.9-$8.7 billion annually. Including ancillary opportunities, Deloitte estimates a market worth $12.7-$22.6 billion annually, demonstrating an upside of more than $20 billion.Ancillary products and services
The cannabis industry is supported by a network of ancillary products and services that do not "touch the plant". The most common ancillary services are professional services followed by information services, banking services, and security. Cultivation structures, installments, and equipment are the most common ancillary products followed by consumption devices, paraphernalia, packaging, processing equipment, software, security equipment, and laboratory supplies. The addition of ancillary products and services amounts to an economic impact that is estimated at four times the value of direct sales of cannabis. Based on this multiplier, the total economic impact of the cannabis industry in the United States was $16-$18 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $47.6-$68.4 billion by 2021.Industry associations
Multiple trade associations have been incepted to cater to the emerging cannabis industry. In North America, the most prominent is the National Cannabis Industry Association which is focused on "advancing the interests of the legitimate and responsible cannabis industry". Other trade organizations include the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, Cannabis Business Alliance, Marijuana Business Association, Marijuana Industry Group. Niche organizations with more specific objectives have also emerged such as the Minority Cannabis Business Association, with their mission to increase diversity in the cannabis industry. Other organizations are specific to particular states, such as Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Badged NetworkThere are professional cannabis consultants that focus on licensing, real estate, cultivation management, facility and design-build services, branding, marketing, compliance, banking access, and global government relationships. Higher Yields Consulting is a leader in this.
University involvement
Involvement from universities has increased as the industry gains legitimacy worldwide. Northern Michigan University initiated their Medicinal Plant Chemistry Program in 2017, the first undergraduate degree program preparing students for work related to the production, analysis, and distribution of medicinal plants. Daniele Piomelli, a professor at University of California-Irvine, developed an interdisciplinary cannabis research program called the Institute for the Study of Cannabis with the mission to advance cannabis knowledge in academia.Green Wolverine, founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 2017, is a nonprofit corporation composed of university student organizations centered on acquiring knowledge related to legal business activities in the cannabis industry. The mission is to discover opportunities for success for university students in cannabis or related fields through education, networking, and recruiting.