--- description: Legalizing recreational marijuana in California could create a $6.46-billion market for legal use of the drug by 2020, according to a report title: If California Legalizes Marijuana, It Would Be a $6 Billion Industry image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef24efbcba81102/6988a3a9cd1bbaad21702155/marijuana-california-legalization.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # If California Legalizes Marijuana, It Would Be a $6 Billion Industry, Report Says  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 25, 2016 5:00 PM CUT  Volunteer Gregory Lyons, 63, of Oakland, makes calls at Oaksterdam University in support of Prop 19, a marijuana legalization initiative, in Oakland on Nov. 2 2010. Volunteer Gregory Lyons, 63, of Oakland, makes calls at Oaksterdam University in support of Prop 19, a marijuana legalization initiative, in Oakland on Nov. 2 2010.Brian van der Brug\_LA Times via Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 25, 2016 5:00 PM CUT [Legalizing](http://time.com/4377239/california-lt-gov-gavin-newsom-marijuana-legalization-social-justice/ "undefined") recreational marijuana in California could create a $6.46-billion market for legal use of the drug by 2020, according to a new report. The projection, from the Arcview Market Research, comes in advance of a November vote on legalization in the state. Legal marijuana sales would be expected to hit $1.6 in the first year of legalization. The move would make the state the “epicenter” of marijuana in the U.S., John Kagia of the analytics firm New Frontier [told](http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci%5F30285363/california-may-become-marijuana-epicenter-pot-6-5 "undefined") the Orange County Register. Both [Colorado](http://time.com/4037604/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/ "undefined") and [Washington](http://time.com/13016/marijuana-legalization-recreational-pot-washington-grow/ "undefined") have legalized recreational marijuana sales, but California sales would dwarf those in other states. [Polling](http://www.ppic.org/main/publication%5Fshow.asp?i=1150 "undefined") suggests that a small majority of Californians support legalization. A similar measure failed in the state in 2010. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4466338/california-marijuana-legalization-vote-revenue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4466338/california-marijuana-legalization-vote-revenue/"},"headline":"If California Legalizes Marijuana, It Would Be a $6 Billion Industry, Report Says","datePublished":"2016-08-25T17:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:12:37.677Z","description":"The question is on the ballot in November","url":"https://time.com/4466338/california-marijuana-legalization-vote-revenue/","keywords":["California"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef24efbcba81102/6988a3a9cd1bbaad21702155/marijuana-california-legalization.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef24efbcba81102/6988a3a9cd1bbaad21702155/marijuana-california-legalization.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"marijuana california legalization","caption":"marijuana california legalization","creditText":"Brian van der Brug_LA Times via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4466338/california-marijuana-legalization-vote-revenue/","name":"If California Legalizes Marijuana, It Would Be a $6 Billion Industry, Report Says"}}]}] ```