Cannabis Business Plans for Europe and other Countries

Cannabis. Spending on legal cannabis worldwide is expected to reach nearly $50 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% from 2020 and hit $57 billion by 2030. In 2015, a report from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), stated that drug use, when not injuring others, should not be illegal in the EU. While there are 39 million people in Canada and 340 million in the United States, the European Union is home to almost 450 million. The population of Great Britain is estimated at approximately 68 million people. The current population of Switzerland is 9 million people and Norway has another 5 million. Reports prepared by London-based advisory group Prohibition Partners value the European legal cannabis market at €354 million in 2022 and €516 million in 2023. Total cannabis sales are forecast to grow with a CAGR of 45% to reach €2.1 billion by 2027.

Hemp/CBD. These days, at least 70 countries cultivate hemp for commercial or research purposes. The largest producers of hemp are currently China, France, Canada, USA and Chile. In 2023, hemp acreage in North America and the European Union countries totalled about 75,000 acres and 85,000 acres respectively, China – the world’s largest hemp fiber and seed producer – planted more than 340,000 acres of hemp, which put global acreage at about 520,000 acres. The value of all hemp-based product markets combined (CBD, hemp bioplastics, insulation, hemp concrete and other) in Europe was estimated at €1.62 billion in 2020, increasing to €6.3 and €8.8 billion in 2025 and 2030 respectively.