Florida’s Medical Marijuana industry in 2019 is booming
Bottom Line: Here are three quick numbers for you... 17, 152, 386. Have any idea what those are? They represent the millions of dollars in medical marijuana sales in Florida.
In 2017, just $17 million in sales took place as the industry started to find its way after 2016’s passage in Florida. That number jumped to $152 million last year and after January, we’re pacing $386 million in sales this year. Medical marijuana is officially the fastest growing industry in Florida. What’s more is that there isn’t any anticipated slowdown in sight. Industry analysts now project annual marijuana sales to top a billion per year starting in just two years. Given our state’s demographics, existing policy and population – most analysts now project that Florida will be second to only California in marijuana sales within the next three years.
That’s really saying something considering recreational marijuana isn’t even part of the conversation here the way it is in a handful of other states. Love it or hate it. Smoke it or rub it, marijuana is booming in Florida and the only direction for the industry from here appears to be up as long as the federal government decides not to enforce the law. That is the one caveat to all of this. The big elephant in the room is that its state sanctioned but not federally legal. At this point however, it seems far more likely that the feds will decriminalize marijuana than bring down the hammer. That is a big if though. It’s literally building a business that the government could decide to prosecute you for at any anytime.