Marijuana sales in North America grew to $6.7 billion in 2016, a 30 percent increase from 2015, according to a report by by Arcview Market Research.

The report, which projects sales to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent, estimates that North American cannabis sales will reach  $20.2 billion by 2021.

This is the first time Canada is included in Arcview’s annual market estimates and projections.

“No estimation of the size of the legal cannabis industry is complete without recognizing the new massive role Canada’s market will play as it moves toward legalizing adult use,” said Arcview Market Research’s Tom Adams in a press release. “The only consumer industry categories I’ve seen reach $5 billion in annual spending and then post anything like 25 percent compound annual growth in the next five years are cable television (19 percent) in the 1990s and the broadband internet (29 percent) in the 2000s.”

“The biggest game changer for the future are the four new states that approved adult-use measures; 21 percent of the total US population now live in legal adult-use markets,” continued Adams. “Spending in the largest three adult-use markets (CO, WA and OR) was up 62 percent through September after doubling in 2015, fueled in large part by the sudden popularity of alternative ingestion methods such as edibles and concentrates.”

“You will not find another multi-billion-dollar market growing at 25 percent anywhere in the world that is not already filled with multi-national companies and institutional investors. That’s part of what makes the cannabis industry such a unique opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs,” said Troy Dayton, CEO of Arcview Market Research.

Arcview will release their full 200 page report in February.

Tags: 2016, arcview market research, marijuana industry, marijuana sales