Recreational Marijuana Sales Are Up 184%. Is That A Good Thing?

In news that will likely be celebrated by cannabis advocates and marijuana industry stakeholders alike, a new report concludes recreational marijuana sales skyrocketed from $351 million in 2014 to $998 million in 2015 — a 184 percent increase. The data come from the fourth edition of "The State of Legal Marijuana Markets," a joint report from the research wing of the ArcView Group, a marijuana industry investment firm, and New Frontier, a cannabis analytics firm.

The fact that legal cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the country is a good thing, say marijuana supporters. It's proof, they say, that Americans are yearning for a safe, regulated way to consume a product that has long been unfairly relegated to the black market. But others aren’t sure such numbers are cause for celebration.

“If one of our long-legal drugs, alcohol or tobacco, had this kind of...

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