The U.S. cannabis industry had a banner year in 2020, as COVID-19 lockdowns and related anxiety (along with boredom, no doubt) drove sales to a record $17.5 billion—a 46 percent increase from 2019, according to cannabis sales platform RDSA. Also fueling sales: weed dispensaries were deemed “essential businesses” in many states amid stay-at-home orders, and new adult-use marijuana markets opened in Illinois and Arizona. Cannabis delivery companies also made a killing—with customer use up 25 percent—as they were well positioned to capitalize on the pandemic. Still, legal pot hasn’t yet wiped out the illicit market—as pro-pot groups claim—estimated to be worth more than $100 billion each year. And there’s no mention, of course, of the increased costs for aw enforcement, healthcare and addiction treatment services.
Meanwhile, Virginia’s recently approved marijuana legalization law is being criticized for severely limited the ability of municipalities to opt out of allowing dispensaries. It would give localities only one year (2022) to hold a prohibition referendum before the law goes into effect in 2024, without further recourse. In Vermont, the legalization law takes a different approach: it requires towns to opt in through a public vote if they want pot shops. So far only about 10 percent of Vermont municipalities have put the matter up for a vote since legalization in 2020. Despite opinion polls showing strong public support for legalization, local opposition remains strong: only 40 percent of Colorado counties allow sales, and 25 percent in California.