Let’s Talk About the Money Behind Marijuana

*In the United States, marijuana has come a long, long way.

In 1931, the state of Texas declared marijuana a “narcotic,” allowing a life sentence for possession of pot. In 2016, California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts all legalized recreational marijuana through a ballot initiative.

In 1969, a Gallup poll found only 12 percent of the American public was in favor of legalizing cannabis. Gallup conducted the same poll in 2016 and this time 60 percent of Americans supported legalization.

As it stands today, 29 states and the District of Columbia have laws that legalize marijuana in some form. Seven of those states and Washington D.C. have also passed measures that make recreational weed legal.

As a result of cannabis becoming less taboo and local laws becoming more friendly, the marijuana industry has experienced nothing short of a boom. According to an Investopedia report, marijuana sales in North America grew by 30 percent to $6.7 billion in 2016. By 2021, that number is projected to increase to $20.1 billion. In California, where cannabis is the biggest cash crop, marijuana sales revenue could exceed $15 billion, in addition to $3 billion in tax revenue.

Marijuana was recently recreationally legalized in Nevada and is expected to support over 41,000 jobs by 2024, while also producing more than $1.7 billion in labor income.

While the anti-legalization side of the marijuana debate has many merits, one of them is not the economics of legal cannabis. The tremendous economic opportunity that comes with legalized marijuana is indisputable and a big reason why more states are re-writing their laws.

But, most folks already knew how legalized marijuana impacts state economies, the numbers are plain to see. What LendEDU wanted to discover was how legalized marijuana was affecting the financials of the individual cannabis user.

The Average Legal Consumer Spends $111.05 Per Month on Marijuana

LendEDU conducted a poll of 1,000 American consumers of legal age (21+) to gauge their marijuana spending habits. As noted earlier, we wanted to see the impact that legal marijuana was having on individuals’ wallets, so we only polled consumers from the states where recreational marijuana use is legal or was recently legalized. Respondents came from Alaska, California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Poll participants were also screened to ensure they were marijuana-users and comfortable with revealing their spending habits.

Our first question asked 1,000 legal marijuana consumers the following question: “How much do you spend per month on marijuana product purchases? (ex. loose marijuana, pre-rolled joints, food products, etc.)”

Respondents were given the freedom to enter in a specific dollar amount, and LendEDU averaged together all 1,000 responses. On average, an of-age cannabis consumer from a state where the drug is recreationally legalized spends $111.05 per month on marijuana products.