While more people are pushing for the legalization of cannabis across the United States, it is already being grown in different areas of states that legalized it. In fact, it has quickly become one of the most profitable and widespread crops in the United States. According to Leafly’s first-ever Cannabis Harvest Report, cannabis is now the fifth most valuable crop in the U.S. However, detractors might need more details about this in order to understand its value.

Numbers

The report focused on cannabis production numbers of the 11 states that allow both medicinal and recreational cannabis use. Those creating the report found 13,042 cannabis farm licenses in those states. Those farms grow 2,278 metric tons, or 5.02 million pounds, of cannabis annually. For clarification, these measurements were equal to 57 Olympic-sized swimming pools or more than 11,000 dump trucks. These would stretch 36 miles and make up over 2 billion joints. Colorado sells the most annually, reaching 657 metric tons. California takes the second place with 514 metric tons annually.

As a result of these huge amounts, the farms produce $6.175 billion worth of cannabis annually in the U.S. This puts it ahead of both cotton and peanuts. Corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat are the only ones that beat it in popularity.

Limits

The report noted that there is a limit to these numbers. This is because there is a lack of cannabis sales registered with the state and federal governments. As such, the report lacked the numbers on how much sales have resulted in. However, the adult-use wholesale cannabis crop returned $6.175 billion to farmers in 2020. That said, because those in charge don’t treat cannabis farmers the same way as other farmers, they are “subject to more state and federal taxes, regulations, and stigma than any other type of farmer,” according to David Downs, the report’s lead author.

Also, because of the inadequate banking and insurance options, these farms don’t have many options to protect their finances.

Hope

It is the hope of activists that these numbers and statistics will help to further pave the way for legalization. With the report showing how profitable this market is, even without cash sales, the detractors could see the financial benefits of it. However, with the limits being the additional taxes on it and their lack of banking options, as demonstrated by Bank of America’s recent actions, some changes need to be made before this can be accomplished.

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