Holy smokes: Commercial cannabis industry predicted to grow 60 percent, from $7.7 billion to $31.4 billion by 2021

Should you get into the weed business? Yes. Yes, you should. If fact, you probably will be getting into it regardless, even if it just means being a consumer, according to this report from the Brightfield Group (which is actually a full-service market research firm focused on the legal cannabis industry). Yesterday, the released a market research report on the state of the emerging international cannabis market. The report includes key market projections, trends and insights, and some of the numbers below will get you high just thinking about them:

• The global cannabis market will reach $7.7 billion in 2017 and is expected to hit $31.4 billion in 2021, which is growth at a CAGR of 60 percent.
• The Canadian recreational market will open in 2018, and by 2021 is expected to reach $5.7 billion, nearly half the size of the United States market. Together, the United States and Canada will make up more than 86 percent of global cannabis sales in 2021. European markets, dominated by Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, will follow with 12 percent of the global market.
• Prior to 2015, most medical marijuana programs outside of North America had sales of less than $3 million per year. By 2021, a dozen countries will have viable medical marijuana markets, and six will have viable recreational marijuana markets.
• Canadian companies are moving quickly to become leading cannabis cultivators, brands and distributors internationally while Australian and Israeli firms are investing in medical marijuana research to corner the pharmaceutical marijuana market.
• More countries are expected to legalize cannabis exports, as the world inches towards a global marketplace for medical marijuana.
• Low THC, High CBD products are the most widely accepted globally, and imports of these products are being legalized in developed and developing markets alike.

From the press release:

“Cannabis legalization is pushing forward internationally, and by 2021 the United States will drop from 90 percent of global cannabis sales to 57 percent,” said Brightfield’s Director of Research, Bethany Gomez. “However, much of the hype about international markets is overblown: only a handful of countries are opening the door to viable business opportunities and in order for companies to be successful they will need to have a shrewd understanding of the nuances and challenges of each specific market.”

The full report can be purchased here.