New Frontier Data predicts global cannabis sales of $ 51 billion by 2025

A recent New Frontier Data report examines the rapid growth in medical and recreational cannabis sales in its Global Cannabis Report: Growth & Trends Through 2025. The report gives a comprehensive overview of what to expect in the global cannabis industry in the next few years, while analyzing the current and future trends in global markets in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, Asia and Africa.

Giadha A. DeCarcer, Founder, Editor and CEO of New Frontier Data, stated in her letter from the editor at the beginning of the report that this industry will only continue to grow and expand.

“When we published our first Global Cannabis Industry Report in 2019, it was clear that the legalization of cannabis would prove to be one of the most momentous socio-economic movements of our time,” she wrote. “In just two years, the number of countries legalizing some form of cannabis has increased from 50 to 70, and there are now 10 countries legalizing adult use, almost doubling from 2019. Legal markets open continues to grow around the world We have found that regulatory structures and societal norms vary widely and that every country, region and market requires a differentiated approach in order to quantify, qualify and understand them. “

The report said that in 2020 regulated markets sold $ 23.7 billion in high-THC cannabis products (that’s 10 times the sales of any other regulated market in the world). $ 20.3 billion. By comparison, about $ 2 billion in THC-rich cannabis products were sold in Canada in 2020. The steady rise in cannabis in both the US and Canada could result in sales rising to $ 51 billion by 2025.

Outside of North America, sales of high-THC products were lower overall but still increasing. Germany is home to Europe’s largest medical cannabis program to date, and in 2020 the country raised $ 206 million. This includes a collective number of medical cannabis patients who use their insurance for a reimbursement program, as well as those who have searched for cannabis products in other ways.

As in the United States, cannabis is not nationwide legal in Spain, but different provinces in the country have different regulations for the sale of cannabis. In 2019, the country’s cannabis clubs hit $ 431 million, making Spain a contender for rise to one of the largest industries in the world behind the US and Canada.

On September 23, a webinar entitled “Exploring the Global Cannabis Economy: Trends, Projections & Opportunities” was held in which a handful of prominent speakers discussed the future of the global cannabis industry.

New Frontier Data’s chief knowledge officer, John Kagia, predicted that while “$ 8 billion in capital will be invested in the cannabis industry, that investment rate will only increase.”

Another speaker, Tim O’Neill, VP of International Markets at SōRSE Technology, pointed out that it is becoming increasingly difficult to comply with the regulations of a particular market for cannabis, saying, “You can either sell there or not.” He also mentioned that there are opportunities in the Chinese and Indian markets for for-profit investors.

According to Mikhail Sagal, founder and president of TSRgrow, the success of the cannabis industry outside of the US will depend on the rapid establishment of a regulatory framework. These countries “must all change and become more standardized and acceptable,” he said, adding that companies “need to change and be able to adapt to changing systems”.

New Frontier Data describes the expectations of the managing director of FTI Consulting, Lincoln Eckhardt, as hoping for the best but expecting the worst. He shared the story of the 2020 vaping crisis and how best to tackle the problem head-on.

“Would that have been the answer a year ago or 18 months ago?” Asked Eckhardt. “Look at separate medical markets -[while] Oklahoma has very few rules. When Alabama goes online it will be incredibly restrictive. ‘ Hence, stakeholders need to review their risk assessment and business investments against what it deems worthwhile.

A replay of the two-hour webinar is available here, which includes a variety of new data from the cannabis industry and topics related to global industry.

On a global scale, New Frontier Data states that the main force behind the legalization effort is thanks to medical cannabis initiatives. However, every country approaches the concept differently. Many countries in Europe have adopted the pharmaceutical route, which allows patients to collect their cannabis medication from a pharmacy.

In Latin American countries with legal sales, programs of private clinics and doctors who prescribe cannabis have been successfully found. The number of patients with medicinal cannabis continues to rise worldwide due to easier access to medicines. In 2020, an estimated 4.4 million people were registered as active medical cannabis patients worldwide. Additionally, an additional two million patients are expected to register for medical cannabis over the next five years, which could reach 6.5 million people by 2025.

Recreational cannabis sales are also expected to double than medicinal cannabis sales by 2025. In the recreational sector, only 10 countries have legalized recreational cannabis, with six allowing the sale of high-THC products.

Many of these regions are only just beginning to implement their programs. In the Netherlands and Spain a model of the “decriminalized clubs / social use” model, while South Africa and Jamaica have approved restricted access for religious groups. Uruguay, on the other hand, has fully legalized recreational cannabis and, as a result, sold more than 1,700 kilograms of THC-rich product.