Seattle, WA: Cannabis cultivated in 20202 for the state-legal adult-use market possessed a wholesale harvest value of more than $6 billion, ranking it among the nation’s most valuable crops, according to an analysis provided by Leafly.com.
Nationwide, state-legal cannabis ranks fifth among America’s most valuable crops – trailing only corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat. In five states – Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon – cannabis grown for the adult-use market is the “single most valuable crop.”
Last year, 11 states licensed commercial marijuana growers to produce cannabis for the adult-use retail market. In those states, over 13,000 state-licensed farmers produced over 2,200 metric tons of cannabis, Leafly calculated.
“With US state cannabis prices ranging from about $500 to $3,000 per wholesale pound, you’re looking at a crop worth $6.175 billion per year,” the authors of the report estimated. “As measured against US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, the value of America’s legal cannabis crop ranks fifth nationwide, ahead of cotton.”
Authors concluded: “By refusing to recognize cannabis crops and cannabis farmers, the USDA ignores a fact that exists in plain sight: Cannabis is now a major agricultural commodity that supports thousands of American farmers, farm families, and farm communities.”
Full text of the report, “Leafly Cannabis Harvest Report 2021,” is available online.
Source: NORML – make a donation