In America, we are seeing the end of cannabis prohibition unfold right before our eyes.
More than half of the country currently recognizes legal marijuana use in some form.
The cannabis industry is one of, if not the most explosive and fastest-growing in the nation right now...and most cannabis businesses can't even get a bank account. Most banks won't do business with marijuana businesses because of the conflict in legality between state and federal laws, and for fear of legal consequences.
New Frontier Data, a research and real-time data solutions company out of Washington, DC, report the following:
~$4.6 billion in legal cannabis sales in 2014
~$5.7 billion in 2015
~expecting $7.1 billion for 2016...that's a 26% increase from 2015
~expecting legal market sales to fly past $22 billion in 2020
This Election Day, 5 states will vote to legalize recreational cannabis use.
California, Massachusetts, and Maine are likely to pass the vote to legalize.
Arizona and Nevada are also voting on recreational legalization.
Recreational marijuana use is already legal in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
25 states already allow medical marijuana use.
But legalization in California will open the floodgates because the economy in California is massive, relatively speaking.
The Arcview Group provides market research for cannabis investors and businesses.
On their Investor page, they share the following:
"US legal cannabis sales grew to $5.7 billion in 2015 up from $4.6 billion the year before.
Adult Use sales jumped an astonishing 184% last year to nearly a billion dollars.
The legal cannabis market is expected to maintain double digit growth for the foreseeable future growing to $7.1 billion in 2016 and nearly $23 billion by 2020.
Not since the internet have we seen this sort of explosive growth in an industry."
Investment Bank Cowen and Company reports that within the next 10 years, by 2026, the industry will reach $50 billion in sales.
Two major benefits of full recreational legalization are:
- Sharp drop in the number of drug arrests, and it's ripple effects
- Massive increase in taxes collected, and it's ripple effects
Marijuana Business Daily claims the recreational cannabis industry would be larger than the wine industry if it becomes legal throughout the US.
The Pew Research Center reported on October 12, 2016 that support for cannabis legalization is increasing in America:
"The share of Americans who favor legalizing the use of marijuana continues to increase.
Today, 57% of U.S. adults say the use of marijuana should be made legal,
while 37% say it should be illegal.
A decade ago, opinion on legalizing marijuana was nearly the reverse –
just 32% favored legalization, while 60% were opposed."
The trend is clear:
The legalization of cannabis continues to move forward, and the implications of this change are having drastic effects in business and economics.
I anticipate we will see tremendous fortunes made in this industry, some the likes of which we may have never seen before.
This presents fantastic opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.
I personally am interested in 
I Am also very excited about the opportunities to own real estate and land that can serve the cannabis industry.
What do you think about these changes?
How do you think this will play out moving forward?
Please share any information, resources, and business/investment ideas that inspire you and would benefit your fellow Steemians.
Thanks for reading!
Links, references, and additional information:
http://hightimes.com/business/getting-in-on-the-green/
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/us/marijuana-legalization-ballot-measures.html
http://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2016-SB13-283-Rpt.pdf
https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Factbook2015ExecutiveSummary.pdf
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/12/support-for-marijuana-legalization-continues-to-rise/
https://www.greenrushdaily.com/2016/09/20/cannabis-industry-50-billion-2026/
https://arcviewgroup.com/investors/
https://frontierfinancials.com/
http://www.cowen.com/