25 Fast Facts About Cannabis in the U.S. and Worldwide

Colorado and Washington made history in 2012 as the first two American states to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use. Less than a decade later, the cannabis industry is considered the fastest-growing field in the nation. The industry has flourished in recent years with an outcropping of exciting job prospects, higher education coursework and rapidly growing rates of support among bipartisan American voters. How has public perception and use of cannabis shifted in the past few years? Who’s lighting up their heady glass water pipe most often from coast to coast? Our smoke shop team’s here to break down any details that remain a little hazy. Learn the basic findings of the latest available cannabis industry research with the following twenty-five fast facts about cannabis in 2021.

1. 1. Californians bought more cannabis than residents of any other state in 2020 with approximately $2.75 billion in total purchases. Coloradoans came in second with $1.56 billion in marijuana sales, with Washingtonians close behind at approximately one billion dollars of 2020 cannabis sales.
   2. Cannabis spending is expected to reach roughly $57 billion worldwide by the year 2027.
   3. Cannabis sales are expected to surge by a staggering $100 billion dollars between 2020 and 2030.
   4. Forbes data from 2018 estimated that 90% of the world’s cannabis take place within the United States.
   5. An ounce of top-shelf cannabis costs an average of $320 in the United States today.
   6. Financial analysts at the Motley Fool say that legal cannabis sales could surpass the sales rates of cigarettes nationwide.
   7. In 2015, female-identifying cannabis users represented just a quarter of the cannabis market, with 25% of self-reported cannabis users identifying as female. Female users made up 33% of the market by 2016. 2018 data shows more consistent female users than ever, with 38% of surveyed tokers identifying as female (an increase of thirteen percent in just three years).
   8. As of 2019, 53% of American women say they’ve tried marijuana at least once, compared to 42% of American men.

1. 1. Women comprised more than a third of executive positions in the cannabis industry in 2019.
   2. The CBD market is expected to reach a value of $22 billion by the end of 2022.
   3. Between March 23rd 2020 and April 1st, 2020, 1,300 new patients cited COVID-19 in applications for medical marijuana eligibility to the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).
   4. Cannabis industry professionals earn an average annual salary of $58,511 – 10.7% more than the average pay rate for U.S. industries overall.
   5. It costs an estimated $775,000 on average to successfully launch a regulated dispensary within the United States, and roughly $1.92 million each year to keep a regulated dispensary running. With an estimated $3 million dollars in annual revenue, the steep costs to start and maintain such a business can pay off relatively quickly and lead to serious profit margins with a few years of operations alone.
   6. In 2016, cannabis bud sales made up 62.9% of the annual marijuana market. 2020 research projects that marijuana buds will have a collective value of more than $82 billion dollars by 2025.
   7. By the year 2024, cannabis-related businesses will have contributed roughly $130 billion to the American economy.
   8. The typical marijuana user spends an estimated $500 to $2,500 on cannabis and related products each year – or an average of approximately ten to fifty bucks each week.
   9. Over 91% of surveyed American adults said that they support legalizing cannabis for medical and/or recreational use, 60% of whom believe that cannabis should be legal for both recreational and medical purposes.

1. 1. As of 2017, there were 9,397 active cannabis business licenses in the United States. Colorado cannabis businesses accounted for 1,520; nearly a sixth of the total licensed cannabis businesses nationwide.
   2. The average shopper spends between twenty-five and fifty dollars on a trip to a marijuana retailer.
   3. As of 2019, fifty-five million American adults described themselves as cannabis users.
   4. 71% of surveyed cannabis users say that they use herb for reasons related to their health and wellness.
   5. 53% of cannabis users say that cannabis use has reduced their reliance on over-the-counter medications to alleviate pain.
   6. Nearly one in five American cannabis users reported that the use of cannabis has allowed them to stop taking over-the-counter pain medications altogether.
   7. Based on the number of openings listed on Glassdoor’s job finder site, Denver was the third-best metro city for those seeking careers in the cannabis industry, with 99 total employment opportunities in 2019. San Francisco led the nation at 197 cannabis-related jobs – nearly twice as many as Denver – and Los Angeles wasn’t far behind with 181 total openings within the industry.
   8. In 2020, Forbes researchers found that 54% of Republican voters support the legalization of cannabis for use and sale for adults aged twenty-one or older within the United States.

Our Denver and Northglenn smoke shops proudly offer thousands of the best devices on the market today – including smart rigs, heady glass water pipes, and much more. We also offer a variety of smoke shop and vape shop accessories, ranging from carb caps and quartz inserts for your heady glass pieces to essential vaporizer hardware. Visit the 710 Pipes team at our smoke shop locations in Northglenn and Denver near Denver University). Visit our contact page to learn to learn how to reach your nearest store by phone and the operating hours for each location. All three local head shops are open seven days a week, and D.U. get 10% off most in-store purchases students with a valid student I.D.!

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