Growth Of The U.S. Legal Cannabis Industry
- In 2019 the U.S. legal cannabis industry generated an estimated $13.2 billion in sales across all medical and adult-use state markets.
- In 2020, despite socioeconomic disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, total legal cannabis sales are projected beyond $19 billion.
- Projecting a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 18% over the next five years, by 2025 total annual U.S. legal sales should exceed $35 billion.
- Between 2020-2025, the total combined U.S. market opportunity for legal cannabis sales is estimated at $172 billion.
- Projecting that 18% CAGR, annual medical cannabis sales are estimated to nearly triple from $5.8 billion in 2019 to $16 billion in 2025.
- Meantime, annual legal adult-use sales are projected to grow at a 17% CAGR, from $7.4 billion in 2019 to $19 billion in 2025.
- Conversely, illicit market sales will slow due to legal markets: New Frontier Data estimates that 17% of all 2019 U.S. cannabis sales were legal; in 2025 more than one-third (34%) of total annual demand will be met through legal markets.
- Legal cannabis industry expansion is fueled both by new markets as more states adopt legalization, and from sustained demand growth as consumers transition from illicit to legal markets.
