The United Kingdom is positioned as a promising market after the legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes was announced. Hence there are many otential opportunities that legalisation could bring to the UK cannabis market.

Revcently the United Kingdom Government announced the legalization of cannabis-based medicines. So that  cannabis will cease to be a category 1 drug and will become category 2. That means, although it is considered to have great addictive potential and is regulated, its medicinal properties are now recognized. So it could be legally prescribed by a doctor.

This is an enormous change from the traditional stance of the United Kingdom against cannabis. The State did not allow  possession of any type ofcannabis, with some exceptions, such as for research purposes authorised by the State.

Recently, the subject was on the front pages with the cases of Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell. They are two children with epilepsy who had been denied treatment with cannabis oil.

Interior Minister Sajid Javid said: “Recent cases with sick children made it clear to me that our position on medicinal products derived from cannabis was not satisfactory.” However, Javid made it very clear that this reclassification for “exceptional” clinical cases does not imply a step towards legalization for recreational purposes.

The cannabis market in the United Kingdom 

Although it may seem paradoxical. While the government of the United Kingdom maintained until reently that cannabis had no medicinal value the UK is,  according to a United Nations report, world’s largest producer of marijuana for medicinal and research purposes, with 44.9 % of the total global production. And also the largest exporter, with about 70% of the total.

Meanwhile, the illegal market in the UK was recently estimated by the Institute of Economic Affairs  to be 2 thousand eight hundred million euros. And has the potential to  raise up to one thousand one hundred million euros a year in taxes.

The interest of the investors in Great Britain was already established at the beginning of 2018, when Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies raised 8 million five hundred thousand Euros from several investors, among which was Green House, the label that belongs to the American rapper Snoop Dogg. In addition, the investor Sativa Investments raised 1 million two hundred thousand euros last March.

This internal market adds to the potential of the European market. According to the co-founder of the consultancy Prohibition Partners, Stephen Murphy, the future size of that market is not easy to predict. But it is an industry that he defined as “unique in the world”.

“There are many estimates, but we believe that it will go from zero to 56 billion euros in a decade. It is an incredible opportunity, “said Murphy.