In the midst of this year’s political turmoil, there are a multitude of controversial topics at the forefront of election debates.

The one that almost immediately comes to mind, especially because of its bipartisan nature, is marijuana legalization.

Twenty-four states have legalized medical marijuana, and recreational use for adults has been approved in Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C.

“Overall public opinion of marijuana has changed. The stance has just softened. With time as the population ages, a lot of the generations that were really opposed to it are being replaced with the generations that are comfortable with it.”

— Dan Humiston, president of the International Cannabis Association

We’re not here to particularly debate that issue today. Instead, I’d like to talk about the potential future of cannabis, should legalization evolve from a ballot movement to enacted policy.

No matter on which side of the aisle you fall, it is impossible to deny the economic benefits that legalized cannabis will offer this country.

In Colorado, legalized cannabis is only in its sophomore year of sales. Still, according to the state’s Department of Revenue, the value of all cannabis (recreational and medical) purchased in Colorado throughout 2015 hovers just below $1 billion.

In 2015 alone, recreational marijuana in Colorado generated more than $113 million in revenue for the state, while the medical side generated just over $21 million. To put this in perspective, consider that marijuana tax revenue essentially doubled that of alcohol during the same time period.

Now, this is just a look into a single state, and the truth is that the majority of the country has yet to reap the tax revenue benefits that cannabis has to offer.

Just this week, Marijuana Business Daily published a report in which it predicts the cannabis industry to be valued at $44 billion by the year 2020.

“We’re witnessing the emergence of a business that is about to become a massive economic force. These figures, which we deem conservative, show not only how important the industry already is to the US economy at large, but also how much more important it is about to become.”

— Chris Walsh, managing editor of Marijuana Business Daily

It should be noted that these numbers depend heavily on the continued momentum of the legalization movement. However, if it does continue, I wouldn’t be surprised if cannabis became as common and mainstream as alcohol (and way healthier, as statistics universally show).

Fortunately for those of us who live in states that have yet to legalize, there are a variety of ways to still reap the economic benefits of the marijuana movement, thanks to the more than 50 publicly traded canna-companies.

We should point out that technically, this industry is still illegal. However, those business that follow state regulations are (for now) less likely to get hit with federal consequences. To minimize your risk, Frontier Financials Group co-founder Rick Gilchrist suggests investing in ancillary businesses that don’t directly involve the marijuana plant and can operate anywhere legally.

First up, we have the social media market.

CNN is calling this company the “Facebook for stoners.”

It’s called MassRoots, and it’s one of the largest (and rapidly expanding) social networking platforms based on connecting people and businesses through cannabis.

In a recent interview, co-founder and CEO Isaac Dietrich stated, “Just as LinkedIn has become a person’s professional identity and Tinder has become a person’s dating identity, we want MassRoots to be a person’s marijuana identity.”

Facebook, Google, and Twitter all uphold bans on marijuana-related advertising.

MassRoots not only allows those advertisements but actually encourages them. The app uses geo-reasoning to provide individual users with information on nearby dispensaries — maybe about sales or the release of new strains.

In this way, MassRoots is an incredible marketing tool for local canna-businesses. There are already over 1,000 dispensaries participating in the database, and the app has the largest following of any canna-centric social networking application.

MSRT, although currently a mere penny stock on the OTC, is expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ in 2016, and with several states expected to legalize marijuana this year, the volume surrounding MSRT is primed to grow.

Again, the best option for investors now is to get involved in cannabis-related businesses that “don’t touch the plant.” Rather, the most legally sound course of action is looking for supportive industries.

Kush Bottles (OTC: KSHB) creates custom containers for marijuana retailers. Its line of products includes child-resistant vessels, labels, and other packaging intended for cannabis.

However, the company itself does not come in contact with marijuana plants.

“Currently, marijuana flowers, edibles and concentrates are not federally legal, so we’re not going to touch those, but there may come a time down the road when marijuana is federally legalized, and a company like Kush Bottles, that has established a nationwide distribution network, is going to be extremely valuable.”

— CEO, Nicholas Kovacevich

Kush Bottles has existing relationships with thousands of dispensaries and stores and is one of just a few cannabis-related businesses that has demonstrated reliable profitability and continued growth. Most recently, KSHB has established partnerships throughout the electronic cigarette industry, another burgeoning source of profit for forward-looking investors.

Kush is well positioned for growth in this industry as well, especially after recent legislation requiring childproof packaging for those products.

As it currently stands, the legal marijuana industry is primed to snowball. Although the industry is still in its infancy, there is more than enough convincing evidence to signal significant profit potential for the right type of investors.

“The people who are strong enough and smart enough and have the right attitude, who are willing to take those risks, will be the billionaires of 2016 and beyond.”

— Cheryl Shuman, cannabis public relations expert

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