The legal cannabis industry could reach $50 billion by 2026, according to a 10 Cowen & Co. analysis. That figure expands the legal market more than eight times its current size.
“Cannabis prohibition has been in place for 80-plus years, but the tides are clearly turning,” the authors concluded, according to a Bloomberg report.
According to the analysis, Big Tobacco is likely to enter the legal cannabis market; however, the analysts envision they will enter on the vapor technology side. Additionally, Big Tobacco companies have experience navigating complex regulatory frameworks, which would give them a leg up on smaller companies with less experience. The analysts predict that tobacco companies will constitute about one-fifth of the cannabis industry by 2036, adding more than 20 percent to their revenues.
Analysts note that legal cannabis is more foe than friend to alcohol-makers, noting that over the last five years alcohol consumption has declined, while cannabis use has risen — especially among men. The number of cannabis users who drank decreased, while the number of drinkers who also used cannabis increased, according to the report.
In less than two months, nine states are voting on marijuana policy, including California, whose market would triple the size of the country’s current $6 billion legal market, the report indicates.