Americans have voted with their wallets and the results are in.
They love marijuana.
Legal sales of marijuana and marijuana products -- like edibles -- reached an estimated $30 billion in 2022, according to a report from MJBizDaily.
That total is more than Americans spent on chocolate and craft beer combined, -- $20 billion and $7.9 billion, respectively -- according to Business Insider.
Cannabis' medicinal applications are also represented in the data as Americans spent more on marijuana than they did on opioid medications ($22.8 billion) and topical pain medication ($2.8 billion) combined, according to MJBizDaily.
The total economic impact by cannabis sales is expected to top $100 billion in 2023, according to the industry watcher, with sales of $33.6 billion, a 12% year over year increase.
By 2028, the firm expects marijuana sales to approach $57 billion, with an overall economic impact of $170.7 billion.
"Marijuana businesses encompass a range of agricultural, manufacturing and retail operators as well as non-plant-touch ancillary companies such as lighting suppliers and law and accounting firms," MJBizDaily said.
And these are just the numbers for legal cannabis. The illicit cannabis market is estimated to be as much as twice the size of the legal market.
Despite the gains in cannabis sales, Americans still love another illicit substance way more than marijuana -- tobacco.
U.S. consumers spent $52.7 billion on tobacco products, but while tobacco is legal nationwide, cannabis is legal in less than half of the states in the country.
