This Cannabis Market Forecast Is a Slam Dunk for Investors

Americans are passionate about sports.

Almost as passionate as they are about their favorite craft beers.

Sports and beer go hand in hand. And few things trigger as visceral or as emotional a response.

Fans are quick to cheer or jeer a franchise’s every move. And they’re just as quick to turn their noses up at a subpar beer.

But there’s one industry that not only has already surpassed the size of a major sports league… but also might surpass the size of that league and the craft beer segment combined in less than five years.

40% Growth for 2020

Few industries are growing as fast as cannabis.

I believe the American cannabis market will be worth $80 billion by the end of the decade.

I’ve already covered the rapidly growing marijuana markets in Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania – to name a few.

Next year, Florida and Oklahoma are expected to become $1 billion markets. Pennsylvania will likely do the same, and Illinois is a multibillion-dollar opportunity for the cannabis space.

This year, U.S. cannabis sales are projected to surge 40% to more than $15 billion.

And by 2024, the combined American medical and recreational markets are estimated to swell to as much as $37 billion…
U.S. cannabis sales last year topped the sales of over-the-counter sleep aids, hard seltzer, toothpaste and even the revenue of the NBA.

And in a few short years, sales are expected to blow past those of prescription pain medicine and even craft beer!

In fact, that $37 billion figure would make cannabis nearly the size of the NBA and craft beer industry combined.

That’s a pretty astounding mark for an industry most of us thought was unimaginable just a handful of years ago.

And some of the stats really demonstrate how rapidly cannabis has grown.

For example, the U.S. ended 2019 with more than 8,000 craft breweries across the country compared with roughly 7,490 cannabis dispensaries.

Now, beer isn’t prescribed to treat pain. Sure, a buddy has handed me a cold one after I was hit during a backyard kickball game. But no licensed medical professional is writing a prescription for Goose Island IPA or Abita’s Purple Haze.

However, they are writing them for cannabis.

And demand is surging, especially among seniors, to treat chronic pain.

But cannabis is also increasingly being prescribed to help treat sleep disorders.

The outlook for cannabis is solid over the next several years. Particularly when we consider that as many as 115 million Americans suffer from an ailment that can be treated with cannabis.

Fast Break to Profits

The markets have been on a fast break from their March lows.

They’ve rallied from being beaten down.

And today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have hit their highest levels since early March. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq has raced to new all-time highs, blasting through the 10,000 level, with 11,000 in its sights.

But over the past month, pot stocks like Cresco Labs (OTC: CRLBF), Curaleaf Holdings (OTC: CURLF), Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) and Trulieve Cannabis (OTC: TCNNF) have more than doubled the performance of the broader indexes…
And as I’ve said before, cannabis investing is a long-term game. Shares of multistate operators have soared in recent months. And I think they have a lot of potential upside over the next several years, especially if the forecasts are on target.

I’ll admit, making projections in our COVID-19 world can feel a lot like chucking darts at a board.

Who knows when the pandemic will end and what long-lasting impacts it’ll have?

And recently, I’ve even been asked if I feel the need to update or revise my own forecast of a $200 billion global cannabis market by 2030.

But I think it still holds true.

I made this forecast a few years ago. And, more than likely, it’s conservative. I like to err on the side of caution because “black swan” events (like what we’ve seen this year) can derail an industry.

So in our COVID-19 reality, my forecast doesn’t need altering.

Yes, some segments of the market are growing much faster than others. For example, the medical cannabis market is growing rapidly in the U.S. because of the increasing number of states legalizing and because it has been recognized as an essential business during the pandemic.

But the pace of further legalization could always be slower than projected.

For now, though, cannabis is larger than hard seltzer. It’s larger than over-the-counter sleep aids, riot gear and even a professional sports league. And it’s only going to get bigger.

That’s what investors need to position themselves for.

Here’s to high returns,

Matthew

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