Those living in Canada, California or other locations with legalization on the horizon might do well to invest in industrial real estate now.

The Denver Post today delivered some incredible statistics on the impact legal cannabis is having on the industrial and commercial real estate market.

Commercial real estate tracker Xceligent Inc. estimates that marijuana cultivation and manufacturing facilities in the city occupy about 4.5 million square feet — the equivalent of 78 football fields.

The reason for so much space being needed is simple, there's an insatiable demand on the supply that growers can produce.

"Nobody is growing enough marijuana," said Jason Thomas of Avalon Realty Advisors, a firm that specializes in finding warehouse space for cannabis cultivation. "Activity is off the charts, but we're still not meeting demand."

As a result of the industry's demands, cannabis growers are paying well above the average per square foot for grow space.

Industrial space in the city of Denver leases at an average rate of $4.74 per square foot, an increase of 21 percent over the past two years, according to Colliers International. But examples are plentiful of marijuana businesses willingly agreeing to far higher rates — $17 per square foot or more — in order to secure space.