Which Countries Have a Legal Cannabis Market?

Non-medical cannabis sales are forecast to surge by around 74 percent in the United States between 2024 and 2028, increasing from $20.2 billion to $35.1 billion. This is according to estimates calculated on July 2023 by analysts at Statista Market Insights and is based on the 11 countries in which cannabis was fully or partially legalized in around the world.

The U.S. is already the biggest market for non-medical legal cannabis worldwide. It is forecast to expand to become almost seven times bigger than the next largest market, neighboring Canada. Canada has a sizeable market considering that the drug’s use for recreational purposes only became legal across the country on October 17, 2018.

Cannabis will soon be legally available in Germany too, with possession and cultivation of the plant for personal consumption legal for adults as of April 1, 2024. As the following chart shows, it will not be the sole market in Europe either, with the Netherlands and Spain both projected to see growth in the next four years.