One huge topic of debate that’s sweeping the country currently is the legal marijuana industry. Medical marijuana consulting, cannabis investment opportunities, and starting a medical marijuana business are all areas that entrepreneurial and forward-thinking people are starting to look at more closely. Studies have indeed shown that cannabis has medical benefits and many states have begun to legalize medicinal and recreational cannabis use. It seems that the social mores and attitudes towards this drug are slowly softening and for those looking to get into medical marijuana consulting or just the cannabis industry in general, now is the time! It can be a very lucrative business, especially since the demand is high, but only some states have legalized its use. There are a million different angles you can take to profit off the the burgeoning cannabis industry. It’s only expected to grow as more and more states accept legalization.
Is Cannabis Really Helpful Medicinally?
Certainly doctors seem to think so. Over 75% of doctors polled said they approved of the medicinal use of cannabis. The New England Journal of Medicine released a study that showed over 75% of clinicians believed that cannabis, used for medicinal purposes, had medical benefits. The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics also published a study that showed around 30,000 patients in California and 5,000 patients in eight other states had a recommendation from a physician to use cannabis for medicinal purposes. Many use it to help treat PTSD, which non-governmental studies suggest one in five military personnel suffer from, upon their return from Iraq or Afghanistan. In New Mexico, for example, over 25% of the diagnoses for a medical marijuana license was for PTSD.
Over 90% of patients believe it works too. Around 5% of adults in California said they’d used cannabis for a “serious medical condition,” such as chronic pain, cancer, and arthritis.
Who’s Saying Yes to Legalization?
As of the fall of 2015, 23 states plus D.C. legalized medical marijuana. These states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Around 17 million people live in states who have legalized recreational cannabis in addition to cannabis for medicinal purposes. By 2017, that number is supposed to be at over 85 million people — that’s over one-quarter of the US population as a whole! This isn’t surprising, considering that almost 60% of Americans support legalization — that percentage has grown almost 20% since 2010.
As more research develops and more states are willing to legalize medical cannabis, the threat diminishes. For example, one million teenagers were studied over the span of 24 years and it showed that the risk of cannabis use in states who hadn’t passed medical cannabis laws didn’t differ in any dramatic way from the risk of them using cannabis after medical cannabis laws were in effect. That is to say, our teenagers are not particularly at risk (any more than they ordinarily would be) if medical cannabis is legalized.
How Fast Is the Industry Growing?
The industry is growing swiftly and is projected to keep doing so. The ArcView Group is a research company that focuses on cannabis industry investment. One of their studies showed the market in the United States grew almost 75% in 2014 — sales were up from the previous year of $1.5 billion. And just in 2015, the market was supposed to increase by another 32%. This is one industry that’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon! Additionally, in the next five years, the earnings for legal cannabis are supposed to out-earn the film industry and organic food industry and be triple what revenue the NFL brings in! If all 50 states were to fully legalize cannabis, retail sales would be over $35 billion per year. The time is ripe to get into medical marijuana consulting or find ways to invest in the marijuana industry.
Strike while the iron’s hot and make your fortune by getting involved with medical marijuana consulting or developing a medical cannabis business plan today!
