The 1 Group That Still Opposes Marijuana's Expansion

When it comes to the fastest and most consistently growing industries in the United States, you'd have a hard time topping legal marijuana. According to the "Marijuana Business Factbook 2017" report issued by Marijuana Business Daily earlier this year, sales growth for legal weed in the U.S. is expected to hit 45% in 2018, and essentially quadruple between 2016 and 2021 to about $17 billion. This rapid growth has been a major lure for marijuana stock investors, and it's a big reason why many of these pot stocks have doubled or tripled in value recently.

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At the heart of this surge in sales is a growing acceptance of marijuana by the American public. A recent Gallup poll showed that a record 64% of Americans now want to see pot legalized nationally. That's up from 60% in 2016, and is well ahead of the 25% who wanted to see cannabis legal back in 1995, the year before California became the first state to green-light medical cannabis for compassionate use. Support for medical weed is even higher, with a separate survey from Quinnipiac University in April 2017 finding 94% support for legalization.

Source: Fool.com