The cannabis market has for some time now, had most of its roots in the North American market with places like Canada and California leading the charge. The past few months, however, have increasingly seen counties like Germany, moving toward having large cannabis markets of their own. Because of this, investors have begun to see massive amounts of potential in these abroad markets that have never existed before.
One of the largest cannabis markets on the international level is Germany. The country is currently ranked at the top of the list as far as international cannabis markets go, and estimates show that sales could reach as much as $1.6 billion by the end of the next few years. This also shows that there are as many as 700,000 legal consumers of cannabis in the country. The number stated above is quite large considering that spending on cannabis right now is somewhere around $275 million as of this year. Germany has had legal cannabis since 2017, but the market is still very new. Patients are quite easily able to obtain medical cannabis with around 20,000 pharmacies selling cannabis throughout the nation.
Next on the list is the U.K. The United Kingdom is slated as second on this list, but their potential is quite massive as far as the future is concerned. Right now, the medicinal cannabis market sales are only at around $7 million, but the laws regarding the plant are still quite strict. According to one report however, “the U.K.’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recently changed its stance on the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. As a result, physicians will soon be allowed to prescribe medical marijuana.” Some analysts have stated that the medical marijuana market could potentially reach as much as $300 million by the year 2022, which is quite a dramatic jump.
Switzerland may seem like an unexpected place to find cannabis, but it is becoming more evident that they are moving up on this list. Switzerland currently allows the adult use of low-THC marijuana, which means that anyone over the age of 18 has the ability to walk into a store and buy marijuana cigarettes with no prescription whatsoever. Spending on cannabis in Switzerland is somewhere around $130 million and is projected to reach as much as $163 million by the year 2022. This shows a CAGR of around 6%, but well growth may not seem too large, this does represent a very stable market on cannabis to keep watch for in the near future.
Last on the list is Italy, which has had legal cannabis domestically for around five years. Although cannabis is legalized to some extent, it can still be quite difficult due to high regulations restricting the use of cannabis. Sales of the plant in the country are around $7 million, but some estimates have shown that is the country is able to release some of the harsh regulations, this number could potentially jump to as high as $156 million in the near future.
The cannabis market as a whole has remained incredibly lucrative in most markets. Most eyes, however seem to be set on future growth in the long term rather than simple, short-term gains. the hopes are high that as we move toward the next few years, it will remain incredibly interesting to see which markets can continue to flourish as the industry expands. Only time will tell how these countries can innovate their markets and create new laws that reflect what the people would like to see in the future.
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