According to a new report, the international market for marijuana is going to hit over $30 billion in the next four years.
The Brightfield Group has projected that the global cannabis market will hit $31.4 billion by 2021.
Currently the market is only estimated to be worth $7.7 billion which means if it hits the 2021 projection, it would be a 60% growth rate.
Right now the United States has about 90% of global cannabis sales but by 2021, this number will be just 57%. With Canada making marijuana legal recreationally next summer, and other countries in Latin America and Europe adopting their own medical marijuana programs, there will be more sales in other countries.
The United States being left behind is not likely, according to the Director of Research for Brightfield Group, Bethany Gomez. She says, “Definitely not,” about the country being left behind. She remarked, “The U.S. market is so much larger than the rest of the international markets combined.”
“Brand loyalty to an oil is not as strong as brand loyalty to an edible,” explained Gomez. “I don’t see the market being so static that… a change in federal regulations would prohibit [American companies] from being able to catch up.”
“The vast majority of [medical marijuana programs] look completely different from the U.S. You can’t go in and buy a gummy bear and have that be considered medicine,” she explained. “The Canadian approach to regulation and product differentiation is much more reflective of what we’re likely to see internationally.”
