THE European medicinal cannabis supply stranglehold once enjoyed by Canada and the Netherlands is being disrupted, concludes Prohibition Partners in the sixth edition of its annual European Cannabis Report.
The report highlights how exports of medicinal cannabis exports from The Netherlands declined in 2020, despite a further 60,000 European patients accessing the medication.
It finds that cannabis medications in Europe in 2020 reached 185,000 patients and were valued at €230.7m. It expects this to increase by 75% to €406m by the end of this year and to reach €3.2bn by 2025.
Diversity Of Supply
The reports says: “The vast majority of medical cannabis imported to European countries to date has come from Bedrocan in the Netherlands and from Canadian producers like Canopy Growth, Tilray, Aurora and Aphria.
“However, as the legalisation of medical and adult-use cannabis progresses, the list of international players seeking to export cannabis products grows, and the emergence of domestically-produced cannabis in several states is increasing the diversity of supply.
“The list of countries outside Europe where companies are now producing, or preparing to produce, with a view to exporting to the continent is extensive, including for example Colombia and Uruguay in South America, Uganda and Lesotho in Africa, the US, Canada, Australia and Israel.”
Prohibition Partners report that Germany is the medicinal cannabis ‘Goliath’ in Europe owing to progressive legislation and a large and affluent population.
It finds that Germany will constitute over half of the European market until 2024 and will be worth over €840m the following year.
Imports of medicinal cannabis into the German market increased by 37% last year, bringing the total to 9.3 tonnes of product.
Significant Growth In UK
It also reports that France and the UK will have developed patient access to medicinal cannabis considerably by 2025 with the UK market having the potential to show ‘the most significant growth of any country in Europe by 2025’.
It identifies several European nations that could introduce legal access to adult-use (recreational) cannabis by 2025, including Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, and projects sales of adult-use cannabis could be worth over €500m by 2025.
Stephen Murphy, co-founder and CEO of Prohibition Partners, said: “Europe is beginning to realise its potential as the world’s leading cannabis market. Since the 1st Edition of The European Cannabis Report published four years ago, enormous progress has been made for patient access and cannabis education.
“We are only at the very start of our journey of cannabis in Europe but there is irrefutable momentum towards becoming the world’s largest cannabis market, it is only a matter of time.”
For more information, The European Cannabis Report: 6th Edition can be found here.
