Pot sales poised to outpace ice cream sales

Retail sales of medical and recreational marijuana in the United States are expected to reach $5 billion to $6 billion this year and surge to as high as $17 billion by 2021, according to new projections from Marijuana Business Daily.

Last year, sales of medical and recreational marijuana reached an estimated $4 billion to $4.5 billion — up about 30 percent from the previous year — and are expected to grow by about 33 percent this year, compared to 2016, according to the trade publication’s 2017 Marijuana Business Factbook.

RELATED: Ohio foray into medical pot begins

The legalization of marijuana in new states, including Ohio — where the state’s medical marijuana program expected to be up and running by late 2018 — is expected to spur much of the future sales growth.

RELATED: Ohio to license 18 medical marijuana growers

But even now, sales are on par with annual ice cream sales ($5.1 billion), and salted snacks, such as Doritos, Cheetos and Funyuns ($4.9 billion), according to the report.

About the Author