New MJBiz Factbook Projects a Strong Economic Impact from Marijuana Sales on Legal States and, Notably, Their Local Municipalities

A new report from Marijuana Business Daily predicts that the U.S. economy in 2021 will benefit from marijuana sales to the tune of $92 billion, up more than 30 percent from last year.

This and other data, contained in the new MJBizFactbook, takes into consideration the benefits of cannabis-industry factors such as new hiring, tax revenues receipts and commercial real estate sales. To calculate these data, MJBizDaily compared industries similar to marijuana; it then applied a standard 3.5 multiplier on projected recreational and medical marijuana retail sales.

“The numbers are a best guess,” the report acknowledges, “because the marijuana industry’s structure is somewhat unique because it encompasses agricultural, manufacturing and retail activity.”

An important finding of the report? For every dollar that medical cannabis patients and recreational consumers spend at retail outlets, an additional $2.50 will be injected into the economy, much of it at the local level.

Financial inputs from cannabis come from the personal funds workers in cannabis companies spend on personal housing and transportation needs. More financial inputs come from the millions in state and local taxes collected from cannabis companies, and from their real estate transactions

The bottom line, the report emphasizes, is the expected massive benefit to local communities and to their schools and roads. Investments in equipment and technology for marijuana cultivation bring in money for local municipalities, as well.

Of course the benefit from marijuana sales will vary by state, the report says, according to those respective markets’ maturity; but overall the numbers are impressive. California’s economy alone is expected to be the recipient of as much as $20 billion this year alone. States like Oregon, Washington and Colorado may benefit by as much as $10 billion apiece in coming years. The newly legalized and densely populated states of New York and New Jersey will enjoy a similar impact.

One of the report’s more interesting sets of data breaks down the economic impact in each legal state per person: Nevada’s per person number, for instance, is projected to be approximately $1,917 of economic impact per person this year. Add to that almost $1,500 per person in the states of Alaska, Colorado and Oregon.