The global legal cannabis industry will be worth nearly $150 million in seven years, according to a recent report from Grand View Research. That’s quite a jump from the $9.3 billion estimated value in 2016.
According to the study, the cannabis market is expected to witness significant growth because of legalization in a growing number of countries and increased demand for both medical and recreational purposes.
As countries begin to liberalize laws related to marijuana, the market is expected to witness a surge in demand. Currently, the majority of the cannabis is sold through illicit channels. To curb this illegal trade, governments have started legalizing marijuana in order to monitor the products that enter the supply chain and reap benefits through taxes levied on these products.
In North America, it has been reported that roughly three-quarters of today’s cannabis trade is illegal, which has reduced to about 30 percent in states where marijuana has been legalized. This, in turn, has prompted several countries to initiate legalization programs.
The report shows that North America accounts for the largest share in the global market. In 2016, the United States accounted for $7.2 billion in revenue. Canada has an established medical cannabis market and is scheduled to legalize recreational use at a federal level this summer.
Europe is anticipated to emerge as the largest market for legal cannabis by 2025, with a 55.6 percent. Several countries in Europe have legalized it for medical use. Countries such as Germany, Poland, and Italy are anticipated to emerge as strong markets.
Latin American countries such as Uruguay and Colombia are planning to capitalize on their climate and affordable labor force to emerge as exporters of cannabis.
Israel has become a leader in cannabis research and is a key supplier of technology to U.S. and Canada. With legalized use of cannabis for medical purpose, Israel is anticipated to witness high revenue growth. Australia legalized medical marijuana in February and the country plans to boost local production in the following years.
