The secret is out: Cannabis is a big-dollar industry. Now that the legal pot industry has grown at a rapid pace for much of the decade, Wall Street investment firms are projecting massive annual sales figures for the end of the next decade. Cowen Group, arguably the industry's biggest cheerleader, believes yearly sales could hit $75 billion worldwide by 2030, with Jefferies calling for a more modest $50 billion by 2029. For added context, around $12.2 billion was sold worldwide in 2018.

Global cannabis suppliers struggled to keep up with demand on Saturday, the biggest ever 4/20 Day, an annual celebration of marijuana on 20 April, which in the US calendar is referred to as 4/20.

Suppliers in the US, where recreational cannabis is legal in 10 states, and Canada, where the drug was decriminalised for recreational use last year, reported difficulties fulfilling orders on what has been called the industry’s Black Friday.

It's been a pretty incredible ride for the marijuana movement over the past couple of years. After spending decades as a taboo topic that lawmakers almost always swept under the rug, cannabis has now become a mainstream issue. It's been legalized for adult consumption in Canada, has been given the green light in some medical capacity in more than 40 countries around the world, and has more support in the U.S. than at any point over the past 50 years, according to polling by Gallup.

Lucia, a Colombian girl, suffered severe epileptic seizures since adolescence. Although she visited many doctors and specialists, at 35 years of age she had not found anything that would help her treat the debilitating symptoms of her illness.

One day she was able to travel to Canada where a specialist recommended a brand of medicinal cannabis oil that, as soon as she tried, significantly mitigated her ailments. Her spasms were less violent and her triggers less frequent.

Upon returning to her home country, however, Lucia could not locate the medicine that had benefited her so much. Although she tried many cannabidiol presentations available on her local market, none gave her the same result she had experienced in Canada.

The U.S. cannabis industry has been severely restricted in its ability to access banking services because of federal prohibition. Two Canadian bank heads say they too will steer clear of the sector until new laws are passed.

It’s indicative of the limitations facing U.S. pot companies even as their market values surge and they engage in large-scale M&A like Cresco Labs Inc.’s $820 million deal last week to acquire Origin House.

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Cannabis has become one of the most controversial topics on many countries' political agendas. Cannabis is still internationally illegal under regulatory statutes, but clinical trials and research have led countries to explore opportunities within the medical cannabis market. However, the recreational market is still widely being heavily enforced. Nonetheless, certain regions have moved to decriminalize, or even fully legalize, recreational cannabis use. Unlike marijuana, hemp's main component is CBD. While THC provides psychoactive effects to consumers, CBD does not induce psychoactive effects, but provide a therapeutic and relaxing effect akin to that of THC.

Canada's recreational marijuana market and European medical cannabis markets tend to be the top subjects of discussion for executives of the biggest marijuana producers. That makes sense, with nearly all of the revenue for the big marijuana companies being generated in Canada and in Europe.

Despite legalization revenue drivers, CannTrust Q4 results disappoint

As the global pet care market continues it seemingly never-ending rise, year after year all things point to the fact that CBD infused products will be among the winners in the race to revenues. Given the sheer size of this industry, it's no wonder cannabis companies are expecting CBD-for-pets to garner a large share of the market. Here are some background projection numbers for the overall pet care market: Statista.com presents a forecast in pet store revenue in the United States from 2018 to 2023. It is projected that U.S. pet store sales will grow from around 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to approximately 22.39 billion U.S.