The cannabis industry gained momentum during the pandemic

Panama, days away from allowing the use of medical cannabis 3:05

(CNN Business) - 

When members of the cannabis industry flocked to Las Vegas last week to attend the industry's biggest trade show, something was waving in the air.

It wasn't the scent of a freshly lit joint, but a feeling that everything seems to be going great for the industry.

Despite a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, and an ongoing fight to legalize marijuana at the federal level, America's cannabis industry is flourishing.

Sales reached $ 20 billion in 2020, are about to exceed $ 26 billion this year and are expected to jump to $ 45.9 billion in 2025, according to data from Marijuana Business Daily shared at MJBizCon, the annual fair of the sector.

The nearly $ 46 billion in sales would make the cannabis industry bigger than craft beer, said Chris Walsh, CEO and president of MJBizDaily.

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"These are potentially conservative numbers based on the evolution we see," Walsh said during the start of the three-day event.

The increase in sales in the United States should come as no surprise.

Right now, most Americans live in a state where some form of cannabis is legal.

More than two-thirds of US states have legalized medical cannabis, and of those, 18 have legalized cannabis for recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Workers harvest cannabis plants.

In fact, the cannabis industry got a boost from the pandemic era for a number of reasons: Consumers were counting on the money from pandemic subsidies, people were forced to stay home with little to do, and that dispensaries in some states were considered essential businesses.

Many states, including legalization pioneers like Colorado, posted record sales in 2020.

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But the past 12 to 18 months show there is more to the story than a Covid-19 boost, Walsh said.

Sales accelerated at a record pace in markets across the United States, especially in select states such as Colorado, Washington and Oregon, Walsh said.

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"We are seeing the next phase of a maturing industry consolidate," Walsh told CNN Business.

Not long ago, $ 250 million operations were rare and rare in this business.

Now they happen one after another: the most recent being that of e-commerce and technology company Dutchie, which this month raised $ 350 million in its latest round of investors.

The sector is also rapidly expanding and creating jobs, according to Karson Humiston, CEO and founder of Vangst, a job recruitment site focused on the cannabis industry.

There will be an estimated 321,000 full-time jobs in the cannabis industry in 2020, up from 234,700 the year before, according to a report released earlier this year by Leafly and Whitney Economics.

"Look around you," Humiston said, pointing to the bustling crowd in the showroom.

"People want to get out of their dying old-school industry and they want to switch to cannabis. This is so. Now is the time to get involved, because it will never be so small again."

Still, many challenges and uncertainties remain.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to give official guidance on how hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as CBD, can be included in commercial products;

California, the nation's largest cannabis market, continues to see sales drift into a large, unregulated industry;

the sector has diversified less in the last two years;

and programs to address aspects, such as social equity or repairing the damages of the War on Drugs, are still in their incipient phase.

On Capitol Hill, the whispers about federal marijuana reform and legalization have turned into an outcry.

But due to the lack of consensus among legislators and industry members, change is not on the immediate horizon, Walsh said.

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Some want gradual but necessary measures, such as banking and tax reform.

Others hope to tackle legalization in one fell swoop with comprehensive legislation.

"I still have doubts that we are going to see significant federal reform next year ... even in the banking realm," Walsh told CNN Business, referring to efforts to change federal law to allow legal cannabis businesses. in the state (and those who serve them) have access to traditional banking services.

Because marijuana is considered a Schedule I substance, some financial institutions have been unwilling to serve the industry, leaving operators unable to obtain small business loans, pandemic assistance, insurance, and relief. for disasters.

Operators with a lot of cash face significant security problems, such as theft, robbery and even murder, supporters of the bill have said.

Having to wait is nothing new for the cannabis industry.

Although it has grown and expanded by leaps and bounds, its legal progress has come by dropper.

"I agree that it is an uphill road to getting federal legalization, but what we are bringing to the table is inevitable," said Steven Hawkins, CEO of the US Cannabis Council and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, during a panel on the MJBizCon on federal legalization.

"When you get to the point where half the country has legalized it for adult use, then we've set a stage for inevitability. And that begins to change the tone and direction in Washington."

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