Pot At The Polls: Marijuana’s Big Wins

Election day showed cannabis has become an unlikely bridge across the partisan divide, with more states approving recreational marijuana use. NBC's Liz McLaughlin reports.

(NBC News) — Election day showed cannabis has become an unlikely bridge across the partisan divide.

Voters in four states passed ballot measures approving recreational pot use. As a result, marijuana is now legal in some form in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

According to Marijuana Business Daily, 2020 cannabis sales are on pace to rise 40 percent over last year, despite the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s going to add a combined $2 to 2.5 billion in retail sales to the industry in the next couple of years,” says Marijuana Business Daily’s Chris Walsh.

The customer base is also expanding.

More women, college-educated consumers, and those in higher-income brackets say they’re using cannabis, with a spike among seniors of more than 75 percent over the past four years.

That acceptance of cannabis culture has entrepreneurs expecting a bright future.

“It will be bigger than liquor,” says Al Harrington, co-founder of Viola Brands.

Harrington says embracing the industry could help the nation’s economy and mental health.

“I feel like if everyone used cannabis the World be a better place,” he says.

A Gallup poll released November 9th, after the election, shows that nearly 70% of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana.

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