Despite ongoing struggles in states like California, the American marijuana industry is expected to stimulate the country’s economy more this year than 2024.
Renowned cannabis publication MJBiz Daily has predicted that the nation’s sector will have a 9 per cent higher overall economic impact in 2025 at approximately US$123.6 billion. New York and Ohio will be key growth drivers, MJBiz says.
“Eastern markets such as New York and Ohio have yet to reach their full potential, and declining sales in California and Colorado somewhat stabilized last year,” data reporter Andrew Long explained.
This assessment is based on an update made to the digital magazine’s MJBiz Factbook, which is accessible only by subscribers willing to pay a minimum of US$249 per annum. It was originally created in 2011. Current contributors include Headset, Brightfield Group and Viridian Capital Advisors.
Long highlighted that for every dollar spent at recreational and medical pot shops in the U.S. an additional US$2.50 circulates through the domestic economy.
Read more: Groundbreaking ceremony held for Kentucky’s first medical cultivation facility
Other analysts predict steady growth
Whitney Economics, another cannabis data specialist, has projected that the U.S. cannabis market will see 12.1 per cent annual growth throughout 2025 and generate US$35.2 billion in sales. That number is expected to continually grow, reaching US$87 billion by 2035, Whitney says.
The number of jobs created by the national weed industry is continually increasing too. Between 2023 and 2024 nearly 23,000 new jobs were created in the sector, according to cannabis staffing company Vangst.
Delays with federal rescheduling and the resulting lack of cannabis banking access are two of the main problems hindering growth in the American industry. Although 24 states have opened an adult use market and 38 permit medical bud, the plant remains a Schedule I substance at the national level.
Being forced to do business in cash only causes security issues and operational shortcomings while limiting access to capital. It also brings logistical problems and higher taxes, indirectly.
Thankfully for companies, investors and dispensary owners, there is a good chance that the DEA will reschedule the plant by the end of the year. Researchers like ATB Capital Markets, Cabot Wealth Network, Pablo Zuanic and MJBiz Daily think there is a 65-70 per cent chance this will occur.
Read more: Tilray to exit New Zealand and focus on the Australian cannabis market
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