Marijuana Legalization in Massachusetts Could Rake in a Whopping $1 Billion in 4 Years

Marijuana sales could surpass $1 billion in the state of Massachusetts by the year 2020 — if the state chooses to legalize weed for recreational purposes in the fall, that is. A new study by ArcView Market Research, a marijuana data group, and New Frontier, an industry reporting authority on cannabis, indicates enormous implications for state tax revenue, should Massachusetts choose to regulate and tax the drug.

According to the research, the state's total cannabis market would amass $1.17 billion in revenue by 2020, the Boston Globe reported Sunday. Researchers note the bulk of this explosive growth in revenue would primarily come from "adult-use" recreational marijuana, which could reach $300 million in revenue in 2018.

Two years later, that figure would more than triple, reaching over $900 million. Add to that the state's continued revenue gains from medicinal marijuana and, voila, Massachusetts becomes the home of a billion-dollar pot industry.

Check out some of the numbers detailed by the study below:

Massachusetts medical marijuana market in 2015: $7.9 million

Expected Massachusetts medical marijuana market in 2016: $78.7 million

Expected Massachusetts medical marijuana market in 2020: At least $240 million

If the legislation, proposed by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Massachusetts, is included on the November ballots and approved by voters, marijuana would become legal for recreational consumption by anyone 21 and over in January 2018. ArcView and New Frontier suggested the market would explode soon thereafter:

Projected Massachusetts recreational marijuana market in 2018: Over $300 million

Projected Massachusetts recreational marijuana market in 2019: Over $600 million

Projected Massachusetts recreational marijuana market in 2020: $900 million

A billion-dollar pot industry in Massachusetts might sound like fantasy, but it's certainly not unrealistic: Colorado's recreational marijuana sales brought in nearly $1 billion last year, surpassing $996 million, the Cannabist reported in February.

h/t Boston Globe