Legal marijuana sales in the U.S. surpassed $17.5 billion in 2020, up 46% from the year before, despite the economic dip caused by the novel coronavirus, an industry analytics firm said Wednesday.
BDSA, formerly BDS Analytics, added it predicts legal marijuana sales in the U.S. — including sales of medical marijuana and recreational, or “adult use,” marijuana — reaches $41.3 billion in 2026.
Micah Tapman, BDSA’s CEO, noted the better-than-expected nationwide marijuana sales last year came as legal marketplaces in several states — old and new alike — experienced significant growth.
Colorado, the first state in the country to launch a legal recreational marijuana marketplace, saw a $451 million increase in pot sales in 2020 compared to the year before, for example, BSDA reported.
Illinois, which launched its recreational marketplace at the start of 2020, saw its statewide marijuana sales grow last year by $784 million, meanwhile, according to BDSA’s latest numbers
“The cannabis industry faced numerous challenges in the past few years, none so potentially disruptive as the coronavirus pandemic in 2020,” Mr. Tapman said in a statement. “Our previous forecast was conservative based on the expected economic fallout from the pandemic, but the industry not only survived, it thrived and legal cannabis gained considerable ground, exceeding our expectations in several markets.”
Most states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana to some degree or another, while 10 of those currently have systems in place for adults to purchase recreational marijuana from retail shops.
Five states passed marijuana legalization in November, and BSDA expects four new medical and five new recreational markets will get off the ground this calendar year.
Marijuana remains federally outlawed, meanwhile.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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