Although there was an apparent divide between the favorited candidate for President in the 2016 election, it would appear that there is a far smaller debate about the continued growth in the use of both recreational and medical marijuana. For while the popular vote went for Clinton and the Electoral college selected Trump, most states who attempted to pass laws to expand the use of marijuana were successful.
Consider the following results for the ballot measures that involved marijuana:

• California, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational marijuana initiatives on the November 8 ballot.
• Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas added their names to the list of now 30 states that have approved medical marijuana initiatives.
• The entire Pacific coastline in America is now in agreement that the recreational use of marijuana is legal.
• Of the nine states that had marijuana usage of some kind on its ballot, Arizona was the only state that did not pass its measure.
• Although many states have passed both medical and recreational marijuana use laws, the federal government still classifies cannabis as an illegal drug

Obviously, few medical marijuana business investors are going to wait for a federal mandate from a future Supreme Court decision to find ways to cash in on this new opportunity. As outdoor marijuana cultivation and indoor marijuana cultivation both advance in their growing methods, this seems like the perfect time for starting a medical marijuana business. And while the growers are one part of the equation, an entire industry is building itself around this new economic opportunity.
Medical Marijuana Business Plans Occupy Many Entrepreneurs in America
Although there are certainly a number of both patients and recreational users who look forward to the continued expansion of these new marijuana laws, it should come as no surprise that there are just as many, if not more, investors with extensive medical marijuana business plans. These entrepreneurs have actually been planning for months to quickly move ahead as soon as the new laws are implemented. If you are considering ways to invest in the cannabis industry, the following statistics might encourage you to kick your plan into high gear:

• 66% of doctors approve of medical marijuana use.
• 30,000 California patients and another 5,000 patients in eight other states possessed a physician?s recommendation to use cannabis medically, according to the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics.
• 27% of the total people in New Mexico who have a diagnosis for a medical marijuana license list PTSD as the qualifying criteria for the reason of the issuance.
• 76% of of clinicians surveyed for a poll by the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that they believe in the medical benefits of medical marijuana.
• 20 cannabinoids were being studied by the U.S. FDA for medical use as of the year 2012.
• 90% of patients say medical marijuana works.

Legal Use of Medical and Recreational Marijuana Is a Growing Trend In America
For years, one of the most common topics that high school students wanted to debate for their class projects was the legal use of marijuana. And while this may have been a topic that would have been discouraged 30 years ago, it is a topic that can no longer be avoided. As one state after another legalizes the use of recreational or medical marijuana, it is a topic that covers the front pages of newspapers and the in-depth reporting of television shows. And even if you never plan to use marijuana yourself, it is impossible to not see the business opportunities that are occurring with the expansion of the available markets.
From growers to to marketers and from distributors to the store owners, the medical marijuana industry is joining the recreational marijuana industry in making a plan for their future. A recent survey by The ArcView Group, a research company which is focused on the cannabis industry investment trends, during the year 2014, the U.S. market grew 74% from the prior year’s sales which equaled $1.5 billion.
Investors who wait may lose out. The aggressive entrepreneurs, however, have been studying the trends, predicting the election results, and are well on their way to creating new economic opportunities for themselves and and the states that benefit from the taxation of those benefits. What are you waiting for?