Medical Cannabis Market Expected to Reach $53.85 Billion by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Medical Cannabis, by Product Type, Application, and End User: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030," the global medical cannabis market size was valued at $6.82 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $53.85 Billion by 2030 registering a CAGR of 23.60% from 2021 to 2030.

Medical cannabis, also known as medical marijuana (MMJ), is prescribed by physicians for their patients for the treatment of various diseases, including chronic pain, cancer, depression, diabetes, arthritis, glaucoma, epilepsy, migraines, AIDS, and Alzheimer’s. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.

Legalization of cannabis across various regions and rise in awareness among consumers regarding health benefits of cannabis and its growing medical application such as treatment of wide range of diseases and symptoms, including cancer, chronic pain, depression, arthritis, diabetes, glaucoma, migraines, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Parkinson’s, and Tourette’s are principle driving factors of the medical cannabis market. In addition, novel product development with increased R&D activities fuel growth of the medical cannabis market.

Complex regulatory structure for the usage of cannabis and social stigma related to cannabis are some key challenges which hinder growth of the market. On the contrary, cannabis legalization in Asia-Pacific creates an opportunity for the manufacturers to tap and capitalize in the market.

COVID-19 is a large family of viruses that causes illness ranging from common cold to more severe respiratory diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the industry for short period, owing to limited operations in most of the industries, inadequate funding to research and academic institutes, and disrupted supply chain and challenges in terms of providing essential/post-sales services. However, after some period of time, the cannabis business re-instead, owing to e-commerce platform.

The medical cannabis market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, end user, and region. By product type, it is segregated into buds/marijuana flower, and cannabis extracts. The cannabis extract segment includes oil, tinctures, and others, including hash and dabs. The cannabis extract was the major shareholder 2020, owing to factor such as growing preference for cannabis extracts such as oils and tinctures, legalization of marijuana for treatment of various chronic diseases, and new launches of cannabis extract products.

Depending on application, the market is categorized into chronic pain, mental disorders, cancer, and others, including arthritis, epilepsy, migraine, and others. The chronic pain segment dominated the global medical cannabis market share in 2020, and is anticipated to continue this trend during the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in use of medical cannabis for effective treatment for chronic pain, owing to effectiveness in dulling the senses and anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis.

As per end user, it is categorized into pharmaceutical and research & development centers. The pharmaceutical acquired the largest share in 2020, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in use of cannabis in the pharmaceutical industry as well as rise in investments by pharma companies in CBD owing to the health benefits of cannabis.

Key Findings Of The Study

• Depending on product type, the cannabis extract held largest share in the global medical cannabis market in 2020.
• On the basis of application, the chronic pain was the major shareholder in 2020, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period.
• By end user, the pharmaceutical dominated the global medical cannabis market in 2020 and is anticipated to continue this trend during the forecast period.
• Region wise, North America is expected to experience growth at the highest rate, registering a CAGR of 21.20% during the forecast period.

North America accounted for the largest share of the global medical cannabis market in 2020, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. This was attributed to the legalization of cannabis in both the U.S. and Canada for medical and recreational purposes, increase in the usage of medical cannabis for treating several diseases associated with changing lifestyles such as chronic pain, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy in North America. In addition, ongoing R&D activities in the medical applications of cannabis fostered the growth of the market in the region.