Jacob Stein has just wrapped up moderating a nationwide panel presentation on Cannabis Law. More than 500 lawyers across the country listened to the presentation (presented by the Rossdale Group), and the presentation is scheduled to run several more times this year. Speakers addressed landlord-tenant issues, lender issues, banking and licensing, trademark registrations, criminal law, tax reporting and filing. In addition to moderating, Jacob Stein presented on offshore banking and asset protection for the farmers, producers and retailers of cannabis.
Here are some interesting statistics we compiled for the presentation:
- 55 million Americans smoke pot at least once a year (compared to 59 million who smoke cigarettes).
- 83 percent of Americans support medical marijuana and 49 percent support recreational use.
- Fully 70 percent of Americans who have tried marijuana at least once support legalizing recreational weed. Only 26 percent who have not tried it support it.
- Asked why they don’t use pot, 27 percent of marijuana abstainers cited its illegality. 26 percent said they simply don’t like it.
- 52 percent of the country’s 55 million pot users are millennials.
- 54 percent of adults who use marijuana are parents.
- Number of states where cannabis is legal as of today is 28
- Current revenue from retail sales is approximately $4 billion, right behind frozen pizza and ahead of sales of Viagra and music streaming services. Expected annual growth in sales is 35%.
- Projected revenue from legal marijuana sales by 2021 is $20 billion.
- The beer industry is expected to lose $2 billion a year due to shifting preferences from beer to marijuana.
- The total estimated annual market for legal and illegal cannabis is $50 billion.
