US embraces marijuana as a mainstream business
With more states voting to legalise the product, a once criminal activity is fast entering the mainstream with financial institutions, advertisers, and blue-chip investment firms waking up to the wider possibilities of this flourishing industry.
Medical and recreational marijuana is now legal in 24 US states, with a further nine due to vote on legalisation over the course of this year.
Colorado was the first state to open up legal marijuana sales in 2014, and reported $1bn (€890m) in sales of the product last year.
More tellingly, the state’s tax take on marijuana is now double that of alcohol — a fact that has made every other state sit up and take notice of the potential revenue bonanza waiting to be tapped.
Retail sales of recreational marijuana reached $4.5bn in 2015, up from $3.4bn in 2014 and $1.6bn in 2013. Analysts estimate the industry can reach $22bn by 2020.
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