In 2019, global legal cannabis sales grew by 46% to USD $14.7 billion states a new report – and the outlook remains very positive.
Legal cannabis sales cover the medicinal and adult use markets, including hemp derived products such as cannabidiol. Cannabis industry research firms BDSA and Arcview Market Research state 2019’s results were a big jump on the 16% growth seen in 2018 and represented the highest annual rate of growth to date.
Underpinning the growth seen last year were the adult-use markets in Canada, California and Massachusetts. In terms of the U.S market overall, sales saw a 37% jump in 2019 to reach $12.3 billion.
Looking ahead, BDSA and Arcview predict global legal cannabis sales in 2025 to reach a whopping $47 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 21% from 2019. While the USA will remain the major market, its share won’t be quite as high.
“U.S. legal cannabis sales are projected to represent 72% of total global sales by 2025, down from 84% in 2019,” says BDSA, which is projecting U.S.sales will approach $34 billion by 2025, increasing at an 18% compound annual growth rate.
BDSA says the looming COVID-19 triggered global recession could prove to be the catalyst for greater cannabis legalization in the USA as it would provide a potentially lucrative source of tax revenues.
Australia does get a mention in the BDSA/Arcview report – it states legal medical cannabis spending outside the USA and Canada was up 64% in 2019, from $446 million to $732 million. The firms say this was due mostly to expansion of programs in the German, Australian and Mexican markets.
For those interested in the legal cannabis market outlook closer to home, we mentioned last month Prohibition Partners Oceania Cannabis Report: Second Edition indicates the market in the Oceania region is expected to be worth US$1.55 billion by 2024. Prohibition Partners predicts Australia will account for around 70% of the overall market due its larger population and higher household disposable income. Medicinal cannabis specifically is expected to account for approximately 40% of the region’s market.
