The cannabis industry registered $1.23 billion in investments for January, according to Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker. The total represents an almost 600 percent growth from the $178 million in the first five weeks of 2017. While it's no secret that the cannabis industry has turned out to be a money-making machine, what made last month's numbers even more remarkable was that they nearly eclipsed the investments of $1.29 billion from all of last year.
As Viridian Capital Advisors search for the reasons behind this boom in investments, a majority of them went towards cultivation and retail companies that were predominately driven by individuals in Canada. Much like the rise in investments, the cannabis industry is expanding beyond a club strictly meant for the high net-worth individuals.
"We are seeing a steady maturation of the capital markets around the cannabis industry," Viridian Capital Advisors’ Vice President Harrison Phillips toldBenzinga. "Early on, it was almost entirely high net worth individuals — and maybe a few family offices — investing in the cannabis space. Now, we are seeing more family offices getting involved, more high net worth individuals, more professional investors getting involved."
With more people willingly putting up their own money to profit off of the ever-growing cannabis industry, these investment numbers should not come as a surprise going forward. Unsurprisingly, the demand is there, so it's up to these intrepid entrepreneurs to put their name in the pot—no pun intended—and make some money.
