Green Thumb, Cresco and Verano each are on track to post annual revenues in the $800 million range next year and sport valuations in the billions.
Even greater opportunities may lie ahead. Legalization at the state level has fueled the industry s current growth. Some 15 states now allow recreational sales and 36 permit medical marijuana. Illinois legalized recreational use Jan. 1.
But a continuing prohibition at the federal level constrains marijuana markets. The federal ban means American marijuana businesses can t get regular bank loans or sell equity in U.S. stock markets. (Public pot companies now trade in Canada.) They re forced to do business on a fragmented, state-by-state basis, rather than establishing nationwide operations with greater economies of scale.