| Graphic: MJ Dispensaries of Southern California |
Retail Market Is $1.5 Billion To $4.5 Billion Per Year
There are now more than 750,000 medical marijuana patients in California, representing two percent of the population according to the most recent data, estimates California NORML. At the high end, an estimate of more than 1,125,000 patients, or three percent of the population, is consistent with the data.
This represents a substantial increase from Cal NORML‘s earlier estimates of 300,000 in 2007, 150,000 in 2005, and 75,000 in 2004, but is in line with registration rates in other comparable states that enjoy similar wide access to medical cannabis clinics and dispensaries.
The exact number of patients in California is uncertain, because patients aren’t required to register in the Golden State. Under Prop 215, California’s medical marijuana law, patients need only a physician’s recommendation to be legal.