Legalized marijuana: Opportunity or time bomb? – Part 1

Legalizing the use and sale of marijuana at the state level has created a myriad of rules and regulations that vary from state to state. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The number of unknowns surrounding the gradual legalization of marijuana across the U.S. far outweighs what insurers currently understand about this enterprise. For an industry that relies heavily on actuarial data to assess risk, this new venture provides little information on which to base coverage decisions or risk management strategies.

Just trying to find growth projections illustrates how much is unknown about the legalized marijuana industry. Grand View Research estimates that the global legal market is expected to reach $146 billion by 2025. The company also predicts that medical marijuana will reach an estimated value of $100 billion by 2025.