A study by Arcview Market Research found that
marijuana sales in North America grew by 30 % in 2016.
The comptroller's office used survey findings and figures from Colorado and Washington, which started allowing
marijuana sales in 2014, to estimate how many New Yorkers smoke pot regularly, how much they would spend if it's legalized and how much tax revenue those sales could generate.
Illicit
marijuana sales in New York are estimated at $ 3 billion, and an official study by City Comptroller Scott Stringer in 2013 found that potential tax revenue for the state would likely exceed $ 400 million, if an adult - use marijuana market was legalized in New York City.
More states are expected to consider legalizing
marijuana sales in the coming years.
California State Sen. Scott Weiner, right, celebrates the opening of The Apothecarium for recreational
marijuana sales in San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018.
President Donald Trump expressed support for medical marijuana on the campaign trail, but his administration has hinted at a possible crackdown on the growing number of U.S. states that have legalized
marijuana sales in some form.
Voters in Maine approved recreational
marijuana sales in November 2016.
Here's what you need to know about the start of legal recreational
marijuana sales in California:
Meanwhile, marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recently taken steps that would allow federal prosecutors in states where weed is legal to decide whether to prosecute people over
marijuana sales in a development that could threaten the burgeoning industry (or, at the very least, spur litigation from some of the states in question looking to keep the federal government from interfering with statewide legislation).
Not exact matches
With city data indicating that African - Americans have been charged with
marijuana crimes twice as frequently as white residents, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously
in March to allocate 50 percent of medical
marijuana and cannabis
sales permits to people affected by the war on drugs.
On New Year's Day, the
sale of
marijuana for recreational became legal
in California, the country's most populous state.
Companies are boosting
marijuana inventory
in anticipation of legal recreational
sales in July, and have much more weed than can possibly be sold at this point.
In its 2017 State of Cannabis report released earlier this year, California
marijuana delivery company Eaze reported that edible
sales have increased as more people learn best practices for proper dosing.
Sales of some beer brands even dipped slightly
in Colorado, Washington and Oregon after these states legalized recreational
marijuana.
On one hand,
marijuana sales boosted by consumer enthusiasm and holiday spirit are great for distributors of cannabis, who are already swimming
in profits, but come at the expense of general employers who may notice their workforce is inexplicably missing
in mass or notably less productive on April 20.
While there are some variations across provinces
in their distribution plans for legalized
marijuana, the largest two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, intend to have provincial run outlets modelled on their government - controlled alcohol
sales.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Attorney General Sessions said that
marijuana sale and use is still against federal law and said he does not think that cannabis is something that should be legalized, despite the fact that more than half of all states have some form of a regulated market already
in place and the majority of Americans agree that
marijuana prohibition should end.
Tree — who said the policy change restored a price support for growers by reintroducing a «federal risk premium» — told Business Insider that while consumers
in states were
marijuana was legal were probably used to a high - quality and tested product, he suspected cracking down on legal
marijuana production and
sales would incentivize trafficking of lower - quality
marijuana to states where the drug is still illegal.
Leafly, a Yelp - like website for the legal cannabis industry, has a list of California cities
in which legal recreational
marijuana will soon be going on
sale, though the site notes that not all dispensaries are likely to be fully licensed by Jan. 1.
But, entrepreneurs hoping to land their own licenses will also have to make sure that they have the approval of their local county or municipality, and the Los Angeles Times notes that most of the cities
in California have still not approved recreational
marijuana sales.
That number would almost certainly get a boost
in the coming years, as legal markets grow
in California and other states, such as Nevada (where legal recreational
marijuana sales kicked off over the summer) and Massachusetts (where the adult - use market is expected to open
in July 2018).
In some of those states, eager consumers celebrated the first day of legal recreational pot sales by lining up at their local dispensaries in order to be among the first to participate in the newly - legal marijuana econom
In some of those states, eager consumers celebrated the first day of legal recreational pot
sales by lining up at their local dispensaries
in order to be among the first to participate in the newly - legal marijuana econom
in order to be among the first to participate
in the newly - legal marijuana econom
in the newly - legal
marijuana economy.
Recent polls suggested roughly 60 % support for the ballot to legalize recreational cannabis
in California, which legalized medical
marijuana two decades ago and already sees an estimated $ 2.7 billion from legal medical pot
sales.
While some remain defiant and plan to continue their work, one party
in particular stands to benefit if the new policy restricts legal
sales and pushes prices up — Mexican drug traffickers who see
marijuana as a kind of cash crop.
While medical
marijuana has been legal
in California for two decades — accounting for roughly $ 2 billion
in annual
sales — state residents must wait until January 2018 before they are able to legally buy
marijuana in California without a doctor's approval.
Walk -
in sales at pharmacies are not allowed under the law, and only residents of Uruguay can register to buy pot — thereby preventing
marijuana tourism.
Montevideo (AFP)- The number of people registering to buy newly legalized
marijuana in Uruguay jumped by almost 50 percent
in the first week of
sales, according to official figures released Wednesday.
California governments are projected to take
in as much as $ 1 billion annually
in taxes and fees with recreational
marijuana sales starting this year.
The Tax Foundation,
in an opinion piece on the report, said the drop «could indicate that
marijuana still faces significant competition from black market
sales.»
The National Bureau of Economic Research study looked at Washington, where recreational
marijuana sales started
in July 2014.
Court filings from 2014, for instance, show the IRS seized 222 Bitcoins from a
marijuana dealer
in Texas, but there is no documentation of its
sale.
Lift CEO Matei Olaru said he believes its accounts were targeted
in connection with the U.S. tech giants» policies barring promotion of the
sale of illegal, prescription or recreational drugs, even though medical
marijuana is legal
in Canada and recreational pot will soon follow suit.
But about $ 200 million
in recreational
marijuana has already been sold, with the state bringing
in about $ 30 million
in taxes and fees
in the first six months of
sales.
In November 2016, four states approved the
sale of recreational
marijuana.
Aside from technology, the company is also expected to benefit from a contract it landed with the Ontario government, which said earlier this week that it would use Shopify's e-commerce platform for cannabis
sales online and
in stores as part of its plan to be the province's sole distributor of legal recreational
marijuana.
A less far - reaching proposal
in the District of Columbia to allow
marijuana possession but not retail
sales won nearly 65 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting, unofficial results showed.
On November 8, another four states voted
in favor of outright
marijuana legalization: California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts all voted
in favor of legalized use,
sale, and consumption of recreational
marijuana.
Rocky Mountain high meets the American open road
in the state where legal
marijuana sales fueling a new economy.
In California on November 8, voters chose yes on Proposition 64 — a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and
sale of
marijuana.
In Nevada on November 8, voters chose yes on Question 2 — a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and
sale of
marijuana.
All
marijuana legally for
sale in Colorado will be deemed medical if the Trump Administration turns against recreational
sales legal
in eight states.
In Massachusetts on November 8, voters chose yes on Question 4 — a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and
sale of
marijuana.
Recreational, or «adult use,»
marijuana sales also jumped from just under a billion
in 2015 to $ 1.7 billion
in 2016.
The legal
marijuana industry could generate roughly $ 22 billion
in annual
sales across the US within four years.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made no secret of his contempt for
marijuana use, and his Department of Justice is on the verge of releasing a report that many
in the burgeoning legal cannabis industry fear will propose prosecuting people engaging
in marijuana sales — even if they are
in states that have legalized the drug locally.
On Tuesday, a joint release from New Frontier and ArcView projected that California's legal
marijuana market could reach $ 7.6 billion
in annual
sales by 2020 alone.
Across 23 states and Washington, D.C., recreational and medical
sales have surpassed $ 5.4 billion
in 2015, up from $ 4.6 billion the year before, according the fourth annual State of Legal
Marijuana Markets report.
JP Noda stocks cannabis at The Apothecarium shortly before the store opened for its first day of recreational
marijuana sales on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018,
in San Francisco.
Customers line up to buy cannabis at The Apothecarium during the store's first day of recreational
marijuana sales on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018,
in San Francisco.
Linton said that a 250,000 square foot greenhouse should be able to produce around 10,000 kilograms of
marijuana annually, which at an average
sale price of C$ 8 a gram could bring
in C$ 80 million.