America is changing its opinion on cannabis. Despite the picture painted by some politicians in Washington, the country is changing its tune to marijuana. More people are in favor of legalizing marijuana nationwide and the cannabis industry has become a thriving economic market with exponential growth that won’t stop anytime soon. Opinions are fine, but numbers never lie. To showcase the changing perception of cannabis, we compiled 11 statistics that represent marijuana’s present and its future.
52 Percent Of Americans Have Tried Marijuana
This equates to roughly 128,842,329 people and each percentage point is about 1,288,423 adults who have at least tried marijuana. This information comes courtesy of the Yahoo News/Marist College Poll.
55 Million Americans Used Marijuana Last Year
Also from the Marist Poll, this statistic includes adults who are consistent consumers and those who use infrequently. Broken down, the 55 million figure regards about 35 million monthly users (once or twice a month) and 20 million annual users (once or twice in the past year).
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57 Percent Of Americans Believe Marijuana Would Improve Society
When asked “Do you think legalizing marijuana makes societies better or worse?” a new Harvard-Harris poll had 57 percent who responded “better.”
83 Percent Support Medical Marijuana Legalization
An overwhelming majority of American support legalizing medical marijuana, according to the same Marist Poll. That figure dips to below majority, 47 to 49 percent, when considering legalizing recreational usage.
165,000 Cannabis Industry Workers
According to Marijuana Business Daily, the cannabis industry employs between 165,000 to 230,000 full- and part-time workers. This puts the industry below pharmacists and above dental hygienists and bakers in terms of number employed.
76 Percent Of Americans Want Trump To Leave Marijuana Alone
Most citizens would prefer President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to respect state marijuana laws and not interfere. The Survey USA poll was commissioned by the national cannabis advocacy group Marijuana Majority.
74 Percent Of People Don’t Care If Celebrities Smoke
The aforementioned Marist Poll revealed that most Americans don’t care whether their favorite celebrities consume cannabis. Among millennials, that figure rose to 81%.
Colorado Marijuana Sales Top $100 Million For 10 Consecutive Months
Back in May, it was announced that marijuana sales had exceeded $100 million for 10 months in the state that first legalized marijuana. According to the state’s Department of Revenue, those sales created just shy of $23 million in tax revenue.
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$5 Billion In California Marijuana Sales
With the state legalizing recreational marijuana, it stands to question the sales such a move would generate. According to a new state-sponsored economic study released in June, California expects to make $5 billion by 2018, though 30% of state consumers will remain in the black market.
$6.7 Billion In 2016 North America Marijuana Sales
Thanks to new legalized markets, North America witnessed a massive 30% growth in marijuana sales in 2016, according to an Arcview Market Research report.
$37.3 Billion In American Marijuana Sales By 2024
The American cannabis industry growth will only increase in the years to come. By 2020, the American market could break the $20 billion threshold and $37.3 billion by 2024, according to Statista.
