Cannabis culture has come a long way since your Bob Marley–loving college roommate ate the last of your Doritos. Today, there’s interest in developing advancements in biotech for marijuana’s medicinal value, investing in “weed stocks,” and funding cannabis-related businesses. This November, California will decide whether to follow in the Pacific Northwest’s footsteps and legalize weed for recreational use by voting on Proposition 64, which is financially backed by a former Facebook executive.
420 in the 619
Seed Money
Canopy San Diego is a new cannabis tech accelerator, the first in Southern California. They want to fund startups that have innovative business solutions which the cannabis industry will need to function.
Biotech Not Bongs
The San Diego Convention Center hosted its first-ever medical marijuana conference this August, the Southern California Cannabis Conference and Expo.
Budding Market
Poway-based Medical Marijuana Inc. is the first cannabis company to be publicly traded; its ticker symbol is MJNA.
What’s in Your Stash?
San Diego–based MyDX built a handheld lab, the CannaDX, that can test a sample of cannabis and give you a profile of its chemical makeup. The company says this will help consumers identify the strain, predict side effects, and verify their purchase.
By the Numbers
$996 million
2015 sales for legal marijuana in Colorado
Source: Denver Post
$200 million
Tax revenue Washington state collected from legal marijuana since 2014
Source: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
$1.65 billion
Total U.S. sales for top 10 over-the-counter pain relievers combined in 2013
Source: The Motley Fool
$6.5 billion
Craft beer sales in California in 2014
Source: Los Angeles Times
$2.7 billion
Projected 2016 sales for medical marijuana in California
Source: Los Angeles Times
$1.1 million
The amount of money an acre of marijuana can yield. Corn is worth $644 per acre; soybeans $400; wheat $232.
Source: New Frontier
20.1 million
The potential number of annual “canna-tourists” to California if Prop 64 passes
Source: New Frontier
15 percent
The retail tax for weed proposed by San Diego City Council if Prop 64 passes
Sean Parker, the controversial entrepreneur who founded Napster and was the first president of Facebook, has donated $2.5 million to Prop 64.
Opponents of Prop 64 have raised about $93,000 as of late July.
Tags: Cannabis, Next Big Thing, Prop 64, Startups, Statistics
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