The number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana is expected to jump from four to 18 in the next five years.
“2014 will be remembered as a year when … a sense of inevitability about national legalization became conventional wisdom among elected officials and the general public,” according to a report from ArcView Market Research expected to be released next month.
The report by the firm — which pairs investors with marijuana-related businesses — was sponsored by marijuana industry groups and is extremely optimistic about the legalization of pot, TIME reported.
ArcView believes states including California, Nevada, Arizona and Montana plus a slew of Northeastern states such as Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts will join Alaska, Washington, Colorado and Oregon in legalizing adult use of marijuana by 2020.
The report and its backers has its critics, however.
“It’s completely ridiculous to think 18 states will have legalized marijuana by 2020,” Kevin Sabet, Director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, told the Washington Examiner. “ArcView represents nothing short of Big Tobacco 2.0, so it’s not surprising they would want to raise expectations in order to fundraise for their marijuana businesses. Legalization is about one thing, and one thing only: making money.”
Marijuana Policy Project, the group that has helped launched legal pot in Colorado, already has workers on the grounds in numerous states prepping for a legalization battle over the next two years. MPP predicts 12 states will join the four states that already have legalized marijuana use.
Specifically, MPP is concentrating on Arizona, California, Massachusetts and Nevada and possibly Texas — while leaving out Montana, New Jersey and Connecticut, spokesman Morgan Fox said.
A November Gallup poll showed a majority of Americans — 51 percent — favor legalization of marijuana.
