Report projects Florida medical cannabis market to hit 1 billion by 2020

Report+projects+Florida+medical+cannabis+market+to+hit+1+billion+by+2020

Projections from Florida’s medical cannabis market estimate it will exceed $1 billion by 2020 if growth stays consistent.

A report from New Frontier Data projected Florida’s market will grow to $1.6 billion by 2020 at an annual growth rate of 140 percent. The state’s medical cannabis profits would be half the size of California’s $2.6 billion market for medical cannabis.

Due to the aging population of residents 65 and older, the report said Florida could become 7.5 percent of the total legal U.S. cannabis market and 14 percent of the medical cannabis market by 2020 if the market continues to grow.

According to an official state list, more than 1,200 doctors had been authorized to prescribe medical cannabis. The state’s Office of Medical Cannabis said they granted licenses to doctors at a rate of 20 per day due to the demand for medical cannabis.

In response to the high demand of medical cannabis applicants, the average patient must wait 30 days after applying to receive a card. As of August 6, the state awarded 12,226 medical cards to patients on the waiting list.