April 20, 2016–Los Angeles, California–Any way you slice it, 4:20, 4/20, or 420, four-twenty day means money. Cannabis is a rapidly growing industry with new laws making it easier to legally use, sell, and grow. April 20th is “celebrated” by proponents of the plant based drug as a day to consume marijuana and point out it’s benefits.

While there are reported medical benefits for consuming marijuana (watch the videos below), the biggest benefit to the drug’s legalization is the money it is putting in pockets. The medical uses of the drug are “commonly used to treat nausea, chronic pain, glaucoma, and a range of other issues.” Watch Newsy video below, which also reports that research shows THC can also be used to “delay or reduce tumors” in cancer patients.

Smoking Marijuana Might Have Some Surprising Health Benefits – via Newsy

3 Reasons 420 Day Means Money

1. In the State of Colorado according the report on “Marijuana Taxes, Licenses, and Fee Transfers and Distribution” the total “February 2016 Sales Remitted in March 2016” total $14,195,923.00. This staggering number is up almost five million dollars from the total at the same time last year reported in March 2015 at $9,099,395. [You can find this report and more information at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-marijuana-tax-data].

2. The New York Times reports by Nathaniel Popper (February 16, 2016), “As Marijuana Sales Grow, Start-Ups Step In for Wary Banks.” [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/business/dealbook/as-marijuana-sales-grow-start-ups-step-in-for-wary-banks.html?_r=0] The article outlines the common problem that legal dispensaries face: finding a bank to do business with. Many dispensaries, though operating legally, are having trouble finding a local bank who wants their money.

“Careful record-keeping can answer the concerns of banks worried about violating anti-money laundering laws,” the article reports. This has opened the door to new businesses to find a work around for dispensaries. The New York Times article by Popper goes on to report, “Hypur, a two-year-old company based in Arizona, has built software for banks that uses GPS to geo-locate each purchase and prove it was done in an authorized dispensary.

3. Fortune Magazine reports by Tom Huddleston, Jr., (February 1, 2016), that the “U.S.’s legal marijuana market could reach $21.8 billion in total sales by 2020” (http://for.tn/20ybNny?xid=for_tw_sh). Huddleston points to, “A new report by a leading marijuana industry investment and research firm found legal cannabis sales jumped 17%, to $5.4 billion, in 2015 and they will grow by a whopping 25% this year to reach $6.7 billion in total U.S. sales.”

Girl, 7, uses medical marijuana for cancer treatment – via CNN

Happy 420

How is the web “celebrating” Happy 420 Day? Here are some of top posts (so far):

Sorry to harsh your mellow on #420Day, but the high holy day of weed is now a big business https://t.co/JIZxWKNlAq pic.twitter.com/DoWWq4Qt5K

— Intl. Business Times (@IBTimes) April 20, 2016

Smoked, Baked + Fried: Stoner Munchies in Pot-Friendly DC, Denver + Seattle for #420Day https://t.co/XOIIRYXgWw pic.twitter.com/QkamAj3YWK

— OpenTable (@OpenTable) April 20, 2016

What is #420? It is not a penal code, just a code from the 1970’s. Happy 420 day. https://t.co/FKcZS68u9e

— TimothyHornik (@timothyhornik) April 20, 2016

Happy 420! If you are going to go green… Today is the day! #420 #Happy420

A photo posted by Now and Because (@nowandbecause) on Apr 19, 2016 at 10:37pm PDT