BDSA Forecasts $57 Billion Cannabis Market By 2026

A new report from BDSA, an international cannabis industry data company, was published this week which provided new projections and estimates for the emerging global cannabis industry.

“The report projects annual global cannabis sales to grow from $30 billion in 2021 to $57 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 13%.” a press release from BDSA stated.

“Despite an inflationary environment and concerns about recession that dampened consumer spending, legal cannabis sales in the U.S. will reach $27 billion by the end of 2022, a jump of 7% over 2021 sales of $25 billion.” the release went on to state.

“The ‘hockey stick’ trend of sales growth seen in the early years of legal cannabis has passed, and economic and regulatory headwinds are exerting pressure on legal cannabis markets,” said Roy Bingham, CEO of BDSA. “Still, our updated forecast predicts that steady gains in developing U.S. markets will continue to drive single-digit annual growth in total U.S. legal sales in 2022, with continued growth prospects out to 2026.”

As with all cannabis industry projections, the main factor at play is politics. After all, a regulated cannabis industry cannot exist in the first place without cannabis reform. Thankfully, more and more jurisdictions are getting on the right side of history when it comes to cannabis policy.

With 2023 right around the corner, this particular report from BDSA essentially involves a three year window. A lot can happen in the next three years for the emerging global cannabis industry, not the least of which will hopefully be the launch of a regulated adult-use industry in Germany.