Exploring Global Cannabis Industry Horizons
The emerging legal cannabis industry continues to be the most exciting space for entrepreneurs and investors around the world. Every passing year seems to result in new markets either launching or new jurisdictions being approved for some form of cannabis commerce, adding to the industry’s economic potential.
At the recent International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, leading international cannabis economist Beau Whitney, founder of Whitney Economics, estimated that the potential global medical and adult-use cannabis market is roughly $237.8 billion, in addition to his projected value of the global industrial hemp industry of $456.2 billion.
For many years, the emerging legal cannabis industry was a network of siloed markets, each operating only within its own borders. However, that has changed in recent years with the industry experiencing a larger volume of international legal imports and exports.
Germany is arguably the best example of this, with the legal industry having imported over 37.223 metric tonnes of medical cannabis products in just the first quarter of 2025 alone. To put that figure into perspective, the total imports for Q1 2025 increased by roughly 14.8% compared to the Q4 2024 total (32.419 metric tonnes), which was itself a record at the time.
Q1 2025’s import total in Germany is an increase of over 457% compared to the same period one year ago. Germany imported 8.143 metric tonnes of medical cannabis products in Q1 2024. Other nations are also importing larger amounts of legal cannabis products, and multinational cannabis companies are becoming more common as time goes by.
Significant regulatory developments in Europe, explosive growth in key global markets, and recent M&A/investment transactions are fueling increased investor interest in global cannabis. As investors enter/re-enter the space, their expectations are increasingly more sophisticated, and competition for investment capital remains intense.
A panel of top cannabis investors and operators recently explored new global cannabis industry opportunities at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin. The panel was moderated by leading international consultant Jamie Pearson of New Holland Group. Ms. Pearson was joined by:
- Raj Grover, Founder, President, and CEO of High Tide Inc
- Will Muecke, Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer of Artemis Growth Partners
- George Bellow, Co-Founder of SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals
- David Hyde, Founder and CEO of Hyde Advisory and Investments Inc
- Margaret Brodie, CEO of Rubicon Organics
You can view the panel discussion in the embedded video below