Here are some facts for business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors interested in what the future holds regarding the status of medical marijuana marketing.
At present, twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana, while only Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have fully legalized marijuana for all uses and another 14 states have decriminalized possession of certain amounts.
Medical marijuana consulting firms have been created to provide advice on related topics such as how to obtain a business license to sell medical marijuana, developing a cannabis cultivation business plan, medical marijuana facility design and how to invest in the cannabis industry.
Among physicians, there seems to be substantial agreement on medical marijuana’s effectiveness in treating certain symptoms. Overall, 76% of doctors approve of its use. A study published in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics indicated that about 30,000 patients in California and 5,000 in eight other states had received a physician?s recommendation to use cannabis medicinally.
In terms of investment potential, medical marijuana consulting sources say that in five years the national legal marijuana market will valued at an estimated $10.2 billion. It’s already a boon to the governments where it’s active. Colorado saw a state tax increase of about $18.9 million in the first six months, and the industry created an estimated 7,500-10,000 jobs in 2014. The state of Washington, taxing at a rate of 25% at the producer, processor and retail levels, collected an extra $12 million from July to September.
It’s been speculated that if all 50 states legalized cannabis today, they would collectively be earning an extra $3 billion a year in taxes.
A common reason physicians prescribe medical marijuana is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s been found that in New Mexico, for example, PTSD represents 27% of the total number of prescriptions issued. And some privately-funded studies suggest that as many as 20% of the military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from some form of PTSD.
It seems to be an industry whose time has come, so savvy entrepreneurs and investors are starting to seek the counsel of medical marijuana consulting firms to gauge the potential in their local markets.