State ballot measures to legalize cannabis could add $9 billion to US marijuana market

Despite a delay in the U.S. House of Representatives vote for a bill that would seek to legalize cannabis at the national level, the legal cannabis market in the U.S. still stands to substantially grow as more states plan to let voters decide whether they want to legalize it.

According to a new report from cannabis market firm New Frontier Data, state ballot measures slated for 2020 in five states — Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota — could be the green light for adding $9 billion dollars to the size of the nation’s legal cannabis market if all are approved by voters this November.

“The 2020 election could be one of the most consequential and historical events to change the landscape of the legal U.S cannabis industry,” New Frontier Data CEO Giadha DeCarcer said in a release. “With $9 billion in new revenue from 2022-2025, should all five states ballot measures pass, New Frontier Data estimates that revenues from all legal U.S. markets will reach $35.1B in 2025.”

In a way, the upcoming state votes could have a more immediate impact on legal cannabis in the U.S. than even the delayed House vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act would have since it’s not expected to be taken up as long as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell remains atop the Republican-controlled chamber. [Read more at yahoo!finance]