Wholesale Cannabis Marketplace Hits $1B Milestone

The legal retail cannabis industry keeps on growing, and further evidence of that reportedly comes from LeafLink.

The eCommerce wholesale marketplace, according to The Motley Fool, said that “$1 billion in annualized orders are now moving through its platform.” The report goes also noted that “since launching in Colorado in 2016, privately held LeafLink has quickly gained traction. The platform empowers licensed cannabis retailers to order from legal brands, which number in the quadruple digits, across 20 territories in the U.S. and Canada. If we annualize the value of the orders placed through LeafLink’s marketplace in May, the figure equals $1.007 billion.”

According to the report, LeafLink now processes some 16 percent of all U.S.wholesale cannabis orders “through its B2B marketplace, establishing a new paradigm for efficient supply chains using eCommerce marketplace technology.”

As PYMNTS readers know, the legal cannabis industry is quickly growing as more states legalize the drug. Not only that, but legal cannabis sales are going upscale — that’s the luxury part of this emerging retail industry. Evidence of that came earlier this year from Barneys New York.

The spread of legal cannabis still has a major payments problem that stems from the fact that federal law considers the drug illegal, which in turn keeps banks, credit unions and payment card networks from taking part in this area. But as far the retail goes, the patterns are starting to take shape.

Recently, Google announced new rules for its Play store; one of the main ones is the banning of apps that help people purchase marijuana. The new rule puts marijuana in the same category as tobacco and alcohol, despite the fact that marijuana is now legal in a number of states. The company said it wants to make the Play Store a “positive, safe environment for children and families.”