Marijuana Boom Spawns Cannabis Industry Ancillary Businesses
- Published on Friday, 09 May 2014
- Written by THCbiz Staff
Legal Cannabis Sales are Expected to Grow to $2.57 Billion this Year
Ben Wu took a six-figure pay cut when he left a career in private equity for a shot at the marijuana boom.
Trained to spot small businesses with big potential, he started this year as chief executive of Kush Bottles, a Santa Ana company that sells child-resistant plastic cannabis containers.
It took some persuading to get his parents and girlfriend to embrace the move. But Wu insists it was a sound business decision. As the marijuana industry blossoms, he reasoned, a robust supply chain is needed to help grow, package and market legal marijuana.
"The sky's the limit," said Wu, 35, a New York University business school graduate and former vice president at Wedbush Capital Partners. "As long as states continue to adopt, we're going to double growth each and every year."
Demand for marijuana-related products and services is expected to grow sharply as more states loosen marijuana laws. Already, 21 states and Washington, D.C., allow the sale of some form of marijuana . Entrepreneurs are attracted by the industry's open field, with few established players and many untapped markets. Some say the marijuana boom reminds them of the Gold Rush a century and a half ago.