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Over $1 Billion Raised in 2016 by Marijuana Industry Businesses

Marijuana Billion Dollar Industry

Viridian Capital Advisors, a marijuana industry leader in market intelligence and acquisitions, reports that the marijuana industry in North America has officially raised over $1 billion in 2016. The threshold was crossed last week, when OrganiGram Holdings, Inc. reported raising $29.8 million.

Additional funds were received by Tetra Bio-Pharma to achieve private placement with Alphria Inc. to conduct research trials, according to Forbes.

According to Scott Greiper, president of Viridian Capital Advisors, the Canadian marijuana market is a good representation of what the U.S. market could be like in the near future. With the new Canadian Prime Minister’s promises to legalize recreational marijuana, investors are jumping to get in on the action.

Greiper said, “Publicly traded licensed producers are the largest deals in Canada. Another thing we’re seeing is underwriters there are buying deals and selling it to their investor network. You don’t see this very often in the U.S.”

GW Pharmaceuticals and Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) reported the biggest public deals. GW Pharmaceuticals is the first marijuana stock to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). IIPR is a real estate investment firm that purchases marijuana grow facilities.

Greiper also said, “Since the election cycle, the deal flow has mostly been in the real estate sector and principally in California and Massachusetts.”

Right now, investing in the marijuana industry poses little financial risk. In the U.S., as Trump takes office, the markets could become volatile. Some investors are worried about losing money on some of their investments.

Greiper said, “I got phone calls in the middle of the night after the election from worried investors,” but “we have not seen a slowdown in deal flow since Sessions’ name came up and we have not seen a slowdown in investing. We do foresee more consolidation in the industry. I believe the biggest strategic acquirer will be Scott’s Miracle-Gro Co. They just announced another small acquisition. They just keep buying up local hydroponic stores.”

Investments in the marijuana industry are expected to remain strong throughout 2017, and beyond.