Legal Cannabis Market in Europe Set to be Worth €3.2 billion by 2025

60,000 people were able to access cannabis medications for the first time in Europe in 2020, bringing the total to 185,000 patients for the year.

The European cannabis market is forecast to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 67.4% to reach €3.2 billion by 2025, a new report has found.

The European Cannabis Report: 6th Edition, released today by global cannabis industry consultants, Prohibition Partners, highlights how 60,000 people were able to access cannabis medications for the first time in Europe in 2020, bringing the total to 185,000 patients for the year.

The value of the European medical cannabis market will reach €406 million by the end of 2021: a year-on-year growth of 75% compared to 2020, according to the report’s estimates.

Germany is the medical cannabis goliath in Europe owing to progressive legislation and a large and affluent population. Germany will constitute over half of the European market until 2024 and will be worth over €840 million by the end of the forecast period. Imports of medical cannabis into the German market increased by 37% last year, bringing the total to 9.3 tonnes of product.

By 2025, countries like France and the UK will have developed patient access to medical cannabis considerably, and large European nations like these will represent a significant share of the European market, the report forecasts. If regulations continue to progress as predicted, the UK medical cannabis market could show the most significant growth of any country in Europe by 2025.

As adult-use cannabis is not yet legalised anywhere in Europe, the market for legal cannabis products in Europe remains entirely medical. This balance is expected to shift over the next four years, as more countries open up to the prospect of legalising adult-use cannabis.

Prohibition Partners’ report identifies several European nations that could introduce legal access to adult-use cannabis by 2025, including Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Sales of adult-use cannabis could be worth over €500 million by 2025.

This progression of medical and legalised adult-use cannabis will contribute to exponential growth over the next four years. By 2025, it is estimated that the European cannabis market will be worth €3.2 billion.

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 4 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. The European Cannabis Report 6th Edition does a fantastic job informing the reader on the status of the industry in Europe, providing the context for growth and mapping out the roadmap for all stakeholders.”

Conor O’Brien, a contributor to the report and analyst at Prohibition Partners said: “The European medical cannabis market is beginning to blossom. While competition is heating up for producers and suppliers of medical cannabis in Europe, many opportunities are still open for businesses to embed themselves in niches of the value chain, before the market becomes more established. This report is designed to support businesses achieve this.”

The European Cannabis Report: 6th Edition takes an in-depth look at the progress of cannabis legalisation across Europe, the trade flows on the continent, business opportunities, medical products on the market and the patients who use them. The report also considers how COVID-19 has affected the market in Europe and what this means for the year ahead.

For more information, The European Cannabis Report: 6th Edition can be downloaded here. Please contact Michael Hoban with any press enquiries.

Prohibition Partners unlocks the potential of cannabis through data, intelligence and strategy. We provide strategic solutions and consultancy services to an international client base of investors, operators, blue chip companies, FMCG brands and government bodies.