New Popularity for Marijuana Around The World

If you think you have been hearing a lot about medicinal marijuana in the news lately, you would be right.

There is certainly a new popularity for marijuana in North America and around the world.

The recent upsurge in popularity for medicinal marijuana has some people excited, and others concerned.

While the recently enacted initiatives all over the country have already presented multiple challenges for advocates of safe access for patients, researchers are just now coming out and providing people with numbers that they can understand.

If you were thinking that medical cannabis was going to be a passing fad, get ready, because the numbers are startling.

The legalization of marijuana is spreading throughout the United States, Canada, and other nations. This is caused by several things, such as:

New laws: More and more countries are legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational usage. People can now obtain and use marijuana more easily without worrying about facing legal repercussions.

Acceptance: Marijuana is becoming more widely accepted. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2023, 68% of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Compare that to 44% in 2013.

Use: Marijuana use is growing among individuals as well. According to a National Institute on Drug Abuse research from 2023, 19% of American adults reported using marijuana in the previous year. Compare that to 15% in 2012.

Sales and tax income: The legal marijuana market is expanding quickly as well. Sales of legal marijuana in the United States reached $25 billion in 2022. By 2026, this is anticipated to increase to $50 billion. Governments receive a substantial amount of tax money from the sale of legal marijuana. States and localities received around $3 billion in tax revenue from the sale of marijuana in 2022.

Growth: It is anticipated that the marijuana market would reach $73.6 billion by 2027, up from $28.6 billion in 2022. The global legalization and acceptance of marijuana are what are fueling this expansion.

Reduction of stigma: Marijuana use is becoming less stigmatized. Marijuana is no longer viewed by many as a harmful drug, but rather as a pleasant and safe substance.

Here are some concrete examples of the new popularity of marijuana in the United States, Canada, and other nations throughout the world:

American States:

Twenty-one states plus the District of Columbia had legalized marijuana usage for recreational purposes by 2022.

In 2022, 37 states and the District of Columbia have approved medicinal marijuana use.

Sales of legal marijuana in the United States reached $25 billion in 2022.
States and localities received around $3 billion in tax revenue from the sale of marijuana in 2022.
Canada

In 2018, Canada became the first G7 country to legalize recreational marijuana use.
Canada's legal marijuana sales reached $4.5 billion in 2022.
In 2022, the Canadian government collected $1.7 billion in taxes from marijuana sales.

Other nations:

Uruguay and Mexico both authorized marijuana use for recreational purposes in 2022.

Germany allowed adults over the age of 18 to consume marijuana recreationally in 2022.

In 2022, numerous additional countries, including Thailand, Malta, and South Africa, decriminalized marijuana use.

The increasing popularity of marijuana is having a profound impact on society. It is producing new jobs and generating tax income for governments.

It is also affecting the way people view and use marijuana. As more and more countries legalize and regulate marijuana, it is likely to grow even more popular in the future years.

Popularity For Marijuana Boom

In order to give you some idea of the magnitude the new medical marijuana industry has obtained, Carly Schwartz of the Huffington Post has provided some in depth research and insight on the issue. Her source Steve Berg has been quoted saying, “Cannabis is one of the fastest-growing industries, domestically, and we weren’t able to find any market that is growing as quickly.”

What does this mean for those who wish to break into this lucrative market? Good things.

Recently, marijuana in general has seen a recent turnaround as far as the countries opinion over its use and sale is concerned.

Over half of the population would currently consider full legalization of the plant, making it available for the first time ever, for both patients and recreational users.

With multiple alternatives to smoking such as edibles and topical products, entrepreneurs will soon be flocking to this new market avenue with incredible speed.

Cannabis Job Market

The other great part about the growth of this industry after all this time is its potential to create real jobs in the market. With the surge in acceptance for marijuana, many families and patients are turning to its use for benefits with everything from anxiety to the late stages of cancer.

A large increase in use of cannabis could leave some dispensary shelves empty in these states and others who have recently adopted medical marijuana laws. In this situation, a massive call to arms will be needed from a broad range of industries.

With the knowledge that every part of a cannabis plant can be used, it wont be long before entire product lines and services are created that will cater to the specific task of growing, producing and dispensing marijuana.

This doesn’t even begin to touch the multiple pieces of equipment required to make even more potent medicines from marijuana such as tinctures, oils, waxes, edibles, topicals and more.

Although the Federal government has yet to budge on the issue of legality for the country (it’s still a no-no) the progression of multiple states to move forward and accept that cannabis has a future for them has caused a nationwide surge of involvement in not only the active medical market, but in activism as well.

Thanks to these individuals hard work and dedication to keeping the cannabis market available for patients no matter the hardships (raids, thefts, imprisonment and more), other states are just now warming up to the idea of allowing medical marijuana as a viable treatment option, after many decades of stigma.

If you want to learn all about medical marijuana and the cannabis business, check out the Cannabis Training University blog and the Cannabis Business Certification Program online.