Reefer madness: Cannabis in US is a ‘$100 billion opportunity,’ Tilray CEO says

 Tilray CEO Irwin Simon believes the legalization of cannabis at the federal level will provide major business opportunities in the United States.

In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance Live, Simon predicted that the opportunity would be upwards of $100 billion. 

"If you look at cannabis today in the U.S., 93% of Americans want medical cannabis legalized and about 63%, 65% want adult use," he said. "Today it’s legal in about 33 states, plus D.C. So, it’s out there that … that majority of people want cannabis [to be available] legally." 

Simon stressed that the opportunities could be extended to cannabis-adjacent products like food, personal care items, and drinks. 

"What will happen once the U.S. legalizes, the big companies like Diageo, Brown-Forman, ABI, even I think the Nestle's and the Unilever's will want to be into the cannabis business because they know Gen-Z, millennials, that's very much what they want," Simon said.

Simon’s comments come after Senate leaders, lead by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., last month introduced a bill that would end the federal prohibition of marijuana, allowing states to set their own laws without fear of reprisal from the federal government. 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/cannabis-us-100-billion-opportunity-tilray-ceo-irwin-simon-says