Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) is Canada’s second-largest marijuana company by revenue behind Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), but expansion projects could catapult it into first place someday. Aurora Cannabis went into this week with funded expansion projects targeting over 550,000 kilograms annually and exiting this week, its plans are targeting over 630,000 kilograms of peak marijuana production per year.

What’s going on

Marijuana has been used medically or recreationally for thousands of years, however, its use became illegal in the U.S. in the 1930s and broadly prohibited worldwide in the 1960s because of treaties. Momentum to end marijuana prohibition has been growing since the 1990s, though. Last year, Canada became the first G7 nation with legal, medical and recreational, adult-use markets nationwide. In Germany and Australia, national medical marijuana markets have been created, and 33 states have passed pro-pot laws in America, including 10 states with legal, adult-use laws.

The shift in how marijuana is regulated is creating a massive opportunity for cannabis companies. In Canada, spending on marijuana totals about 6 billion Canadian dollars per year and in the U.S., the marijuana market is estimated to be worth about US$50 billion. Globally, the United Nations values the marijuana market at about $150 billion. [Read more at The Motley Fool]