Last Year People Spent More on Legal Weed than Cheetos, Doritos

Weeding Out the Weak

Food News

Never has there been a sweeter and more committed marriage than the union of weed and corn-based snacks. The two shall ne’re part, lest we all endure the pain of unfulfilled munchie cravings.

According to new estimates from ArcView Market Research and New Frontier Data, though, two marijuana industry market research groups, Americans spent $5.4 billion on legal medical and recreational marijuana last year.

That’s a lot of pot. In fact, that’s more than the $4.9 billion Americans spent on Doritos, Cheetos and Funyuns combined in 2015. And although increased toking may have very well contributed to higher junk food sales, legal marijuana has left Cheetos in its own cheese-flavored dust.

California’s medical marijuana sales account for $1 billion of the $5.4 billion total. Colorado comes in at nearly $1 billion in legal marijuana sales and Washington more than half-billion dollars.

ArcView estimates that legal sales are going to increase at an annual rate of about 30 percent over the next five years as more states jump on the legalization bandwagon. That kind of growth would make the legal marijuana industry worth approximately $22 billion in annual revenue by 2020.

With sales like that, retailers should have no problem including a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos free with purchase.

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