WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The market for marijuana is now worth billions since the legalization of recreational marijuana in nine states in the US. Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states.
Legal marijuana sales for 2017 are expected to hit $9.7 billion in North America, according to a report from Arcview Market Research, a 33 percent increase over 2016.
Lets take a look at some of the largest cannabis growers in North America.
1. Canopy Growth Corp.: Smiths Falls, Ontario-based Canopy Growth, formerly known as Tweed Marijuana Inc., was founded by Bruce Linton and Chuck Rifici in 2014. The company, which currently has a market value of about C$6.7 billion, has a square footage growth of 568,000.
2. 7 Acres: Canada-base Supreme Cannabis is one of the leading cultivator and distributor of sun grown cannabis through its wholly-owned subsidiary 7Acres. 7Acres operates a facility which spans 340,000 square feet of indoor growing space and utilizes the sun.
3. Organigram: Moncton, New Brunswick-based Organigram is one of the leading producer of marijuana. It currently grows cannabis in 227,500 sq. ft.
4. Copperstate Farms: The Arizona-based cannabis company has operations of 217,800 sq. ft. In February, Aphria Inc. agreed to sell its stake in Copperstate Farms to an affiliated U.S. company, Liberty Health Sciences Inc., for $20 million.
5. Harvest Inc.: Arizona cannabis company Harvest currently hold medical cannabis licenses in seven states. It has a marijuana grow operation of 208,800 sq. ft.
6. West Edge LLC: Willcox, Arizona-based West Edge currently produces marijuana at 187,944 sq. ft. facility.
7. Reef Dispensaries: Las Vegas-based Reef Dispensaries is a recreational and medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation facility run by Tryke Companies. The company has two indoor cultivation facilities, one in Arizona and another in Las Vegas which will stand at 165,000 sq. ft.
8. LivWell: Denver, Colorado-based LivWell is one of the nations leading cannabis company with a 162,000 sq. ft. cultivation facility.
9. Revolution Enterprises: Chicago, Illinois-based Revolution Enterprises has a cultivation center of 151,040 sq. ft.
10. Green Man Cannabis: Another Denver, Colorado-based company, that was founded in 2009 by Christian Hageseth, has a growth facility of 128,000 sq. ft.
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