A new analysis by Verify Markets shows the total U.S. wholesale legal marijuana market was valued at $210.7 million in 2016. Increased legalization efforts at the 2016 election in November resulted in more states approving marijuana initiatives in some form, i.e., medical or recreational. Recreational initiatives were approved in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maine while medical marijuana was legalized in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota.

The opening up of new states to legal marijuana is anticipated to grow the market at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.5 percent for the forecast period 2016 to 2021 with revenues anticipated to reach $768.7 million by 2021. In addition, the occurrence of two events, namely the legalization of marijuana at a federal level and the entry of large pharmaceutical and beer companies in the marijuana market, could be considered as game changers in the industry and remains to be speculated throughout the forecast period.

Hemp and marijuana market segments contributed the largest revenue share in 2016. The trends observed in 2016 also indicate that the marijuana industry presents numerous opportunities not just for growers, but also for other related segments such as consulting, cannabis testing labs, vaporizers, packaging, CBD oil, and hemp-infused products, beverages, edibles, topicals, and security services providers, among others. This trend is likely to continue as the industry progresses and expands moving forward, with consulting/services and vaporizers segments anticipated to grow at a faster rate than any other segment analyzed in the study.

The market segments analyzed in this study include companies that grow and directly handle marijuana (legal and recreational), as well as ancillary companies that touch marijuana in some form including hemp, provide growing equipment, consulting services, perform laboratory testing, and so on.  The marijuana segments considered include:

• Cultivation & Retail
• Hemp/Marijuana Products
• Vaporizers
• Ancillary products
• Consulting and Services
• Ag-tech

Most of the studies available in the market use retail sales estimates and/or consumer expenditures to arrive at the overall size of this industry. In this study, we have not included the sales from dispensaries as almost all retailers are privately owned, however, we have attempted to perform a wholesale analysis of the U.S. cannabis industry by looking at the public companies listed on the Marijuana Index, a stock index that is owned, maintained, and managed by MJIC, Inc., a diversified operating company in the legal cannabis markets with a focus on providing financial services to the cannabis industry.

Some of the key companies covered in this report include Terra Tech Corp, Kush Bottles, mCig, Medical Marijuana, United Cannabis Corp, American Cannabis Company, Signal Bay, CV Sciences, and Sugarmade, among others. This report provides an in-depth wholesale analysis of the overall U.S. legal marijuana market segments. The report captures various market dynamics such as growth drivers, challenges, trends, and competitive landscape and provides strategic recommendations.