Cannabis News

In 2021, the global cannabis market reached a phenomenal $37.4 billion. It&rsquo;s expected to rise exponentially further in coming year, potentially reaching the dizzy heights of $102 billion by 2026.

As you may have already learned from our article &lsquo;Is Cannabis Legal in the U.K?&rsquo;, we&rsquo;re already steaming ahead with massive cannabis farms up and down the country. Although current legislation keeps our access to cannabis very narrow (only allowing people to legally possess and use cannabis on prescription, usually obtained for a premium price via a private clinic) and on the surface, our government acts like we have no plans to change that, this seems highly unlikely.

At a time when the U.K is in tremendous debt (there&rsquo;s about &pound;25bn left to pay to the EU by 2057, and 18bn of that is due by 2025), it&rsquo;s non-sensical to keep ourselves out of this booming market for much longer. Cannabis companies are already listed on the London Stock Exchange, so we&rsquo;re getting closer all the time.

There&rsquo;s no way of saying for sure what&rsquo;s going on behind the scenes, or how long it will be before we jump in with both feet. It&rsquo;s all just guess-work really. But with more and more European countries updating cannabis law to reflect the science that backs up the plants safety and therapeutic potential, there&rsquo;s only so long we can lag behind.

There&rsquo;s an increasing demand for U.K cannabis legalisation among the public too. <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2021/04/06/fcf4a/3" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">A 2021 YouGov poll</a> showed that 52% of respondents are for this long-awaited change. However, with 15% still unsure and 32% still opposing, there&rsquo;s evidently still work to be done on educating the public and reducing propaganda-fuelled stigma.

It&rsquo;s worth noting that the CBD industry has played an integral part in opening up the cannabis conversation in the U.K. too, and is likely to continue to do so. There are now over 900 CBD companies in the EU and <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/51b75a3b/files/uploaded/Report%20%7C%20CBD%20in%20the%20UK%20-%20Exec%20Summary.pdf" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">an estimated 6 million CBD users in the U.K alone</a>. Through this, people who might ordinarily be unsure about cannabis are tentatively dipping their toes in, albeit without trying THC in any notable amounts. They&rsquo;re also starting to learn about the endocannabinoid system, via brand blogs and magazine articles on the so-called &lsquo;wellness trend&rsquo;, which in and of itself is assuaging certain fears and misconceptions surrounding cannabis use.

We know that there&rsquo;s a big demand for cannabis here. <a href="https://cannabislaw.report/uk-survey-suggests-that-as-manu-as-1-4-million-purchasing-illegal-cannabis-to-treat-chronic-conditions/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">At least 2.8% (1.4 million) of the adult population in the U.K use cannabis</a>, illegally, to treat chronic conditions. Approximately 56% of those do so on a daily basis and 23% a weekly basis. Around 1 in 10 claimed to spend nothing on cannabis (implying they grow their own). And of course, the recreational market is almost certainly even higher.

Unfortunately, concerns of the U.K launching a cannabis industry that&rsquo;s monopolised by &lsquo;Big Cannabis&rsquo; (like Big Pharma and Big Tobacco) is almost certainly what we&rsquo;ll see happen when our country finally does put on some big boy pants. It&rsquo;s inevitable. Already, we&rsquo;re seeing small CBD companies being pushed out of the sector by FSA rulings clearing the way for a market filled with products owned by a handful of huge corps. And, while it is already possible (although not easy) to venture into the U.K. cannabis playing field, it&rsquo;ll cost you! You need to create a facility before you can even obtain a license. But where&rsquo;s there&rsquo;s enormous amounts of money to be made, you&rsquo;ll always see big players getting ahead first.

That doesn&rsquo;t mean there&rsquo;s no scope for craft grows and boutique cannabis businesses in the future, but, sadly, we&rsquo;re probably quite far away from that. But, who knows? Once the market opens (and it will, eventually, open), there will be room for the little guys in some capacity &ndash; just like we&rsquo;ve seen across the US and Canada. It&rsquo;s easy to imagine that most of these will come from decades-long growers and faithful participants in the illicit market, when finally they go from being labelled criminals, to cannabis connoisseurs with highly sought-after skills. Won&rsquo;t that be refreshing?

The U.K has always followed the US in cannabis policy, so our best bet for clues on how the sector will develop is to look across the pond. Hopefully, it won&rsquo;t be too long before we&rsquo;ll be able to pop into a local, organic dispensary, enjoy 420-friendly hotels and order bud from Deliveroo.

The Future is Green: What’s next for cannabis in the U.K?

Ruby Deevoy

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