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As the dust settles after Tuesday's election, many Americans are awaking in a haze of a different sort. Voters in Massachusetts, Nevada and California approved recreational cannabis Tuesday night, with Maine likely to follow as the votes continue to be tallied. Medical cannabis was approved in Florida, Arkansas, Montana and North Dakota. Together, over 75 million Americans now have access to some form of legal cannabis, about 20% of the nation. The only unsuccessful marijuana initiative was Arizona's Prop 205 for recreational use.
Marijuana companies have been busy preparing for the prospect, buying large plots of land in areas known for traditional types of agriculture. The potential for interstate commerce has the industry seeing green in more ways than one. The legal cannabis industry is already on track to hit nearly $7B in sales this year, up a whopping 25% from a year ago. The numbers behind the industry are staggering considering recreational use is just two years old. ArcView Market Research, a leading firm in cannabis market data, predicts by 2020 the industry will near $22B in sales. If that prediction holds true, that would make the cannabis market larger than the NFL, which saw roughly $12B in revenue last year.
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