World Market for Cannabis

Backed partly by existing legacy use, there is a broad-based growth narrative for legal cannabis. More geographies are moving from prohibition to controlling and taxing cannabinoid products. Consumers are turning to cannabis use in increasingly diverse parts of their lives - therapeutically, for relaxation, mood management and more, feeding an 18% value CAGR over 2023-2028.

Key Findings

Mixed bag for the industry

2023 was something of a mixed bag for the legal cannabis industry. While 13% year-on-year growth to reach USD47.1 billion represents a modest recovery from the high single-digit growth experienced in 2022, it remains some way off the 40% and 30% expansion achieved during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Legacy market dominates

Cannabis is a substance with a history of thousands of years of human use, and is currently known and consumed (no matter what governments might say) in every corner of the world. Our data estimate that 81% of the total global value is currently consumed in the illicit market, which could decline to around two thirds by 2028 if further legalisation occurs.

Forecast remains positive

Backed partly by existing legacy use, there is a broad-based growth narrative for legal cannabis. More geographies are moving from prohibition to controlling and taxing cannabinoid products. Consumers are turning to cannabis use in increasingly diverse parts of their lives - therapeutically, for relaxation, mood management and more, feeding an 18% value CAGR over 2023-2028.

Flower’s declining share

The modern cannabis consumer is diversifying away from the traditional image of ritual recreational flower consumption. There will still be ritual, as well as recreation, alongside a range of fresh use occasions involving innovative delivery mechanisms and sophisticated infused formulations, meaning that flower’s share will decline from 32% in 2023 to around 28% by 2028.

Adult-use the key driver

The fundamental driver of value growth in the global legal cannabis industry over the period to 2028 will be the wider legalisation of adult-use cannabis in the US (and potentially internationally) driving the user population up by almost 100% to over 40 million. Growth will also occur in other areas, with the CBD user population growing to around 65 million.

The World Market for Cannabis Global report is designed specifically for current and potential stakeholders in the emerging legal cannabis market. It seeks to provide an in-depth overview of the size and scope of the global cannabis environment, examining the historic and future market trends. Delving into the forces shaping the emerging legal industry including regulatory momentum, dynamics of current illicit consumption, changing consumer behaviour and corporate activity, the report identifies opportunities and challenges across medical, adult-use cannabis and CBD. Forecasts in the reports are available to 2027.

Product coverage: Adult-Use Cannabis, CBD & Other Non-Intoxicating Cannabinoids, Medical Cannabis.

Data coverage: Market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

• Get a detailed picture of the Cannabis market;
• Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;
• Understand the competitive environment, the market’s major players and leading brands;
• Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.