The recreational cannabis industry is changing fast, and the last few years have been a blur for investors observing the space.



More people today believe that cannabis should be legal than ever before, and famed investors like Peter Thiel have already made giant bets on the future of recreational cannabis.

Here’s five facts you need to know on the fast-moving industry:

Recreational cannabis is already legal in four states and D.C. It is also available for medical purposes in 20 other states, as well as Canada. Viridian Capital Advisors, which provides research to the cannabis sector, estimates between 6 to 13 states will legalize recreational usage by end of 2016. Legal cannabis was a $700 million industry in Colorado last year. In 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million of medical cannabis and $313 million for recreational purposes. The two segments of the market generated $63 million in tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees. Stocks in the sector have boomed over the last two years. The Viridian Cannabis Index, which covers 60 publicly traded cannabis companies in the United States and Canada, was up 77.5% in 2013, 38.4% in 2014, and 23.6% in 2015 Q1. Total legal cannabis sales have sailed in recent years With $1.6 billion in sales in 2013, it is expected to increase to $3.5 billion in 2018, which is good for an expected 17% compound annual growth rate. Nearly half of U.S. states and all of Canada now have access to medical cannabis. That includes 23 states (148.6 million people), 1 district (0.7 million people) and Canada (35.2 million people). That’s 52% of the entire population of the United States and Canada.

The landscape of the cannabis industry is quickly changing. More jurisdictions are turning to legalization of medical and recreational cannabis, and the growth story behind the industry is just beginning for investors.

Source: Visual Capitalist