Report: Cannabis Industry Investments Rocket 942%

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Talk about a growth spurt.

In the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, investments in the North American cannabis industry hit $104.5 million, according to Inc.com, which based its report on research from CB Insights.

Much of that growth came last year, when investments rose 941.5%, according to the piece.

CB Insights recorded 60 investment deals in the two-year span involving cannabis-related companies, the biggest of which was $75 million raised by private equity firm Privateer Holdings.

After that came a $20 million investment deal in Chicago-based PharmaCann, which operates cultivation sites, and then $12.4 million in funding for Leafline Labs in Minnesota, which is one of two companies granted business licenses in that state to grow and distribute MMJ.

Only a handful of the deals that CB Insights examined were tied to businesses in California or Colorado, where the groundbreaking marijuana trade is flourishing.