When Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, few could have predicted the scale of the growth which would bloom across the industry. Legal marijuana sales in the US and Canada are now expected to pass $20.2 billion by 2021 at a predicted annual growth rate of 25 percent, accounting for larger and faster industry growth than witnessed during the dot-com era.

The growth is not just being facilitated by sale of pre-rolled joints in dispensaries. Entrepreneurs, innovators and investors have jumped headfirst across a range of industries. A recent report estimated that by 2020 the marijuana industry will provide more jobs than each of the manufacturing, utilities or government sectors.

But while hundreds of thousands of Americans may be dreaming of long, lucrative careers as ‘greenfingers’, we are witnessing an unforeseen level of automation in the industry.

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