The Medicinal Cannabis (R)evolution

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The Marijuana Business Factbook (2017) noted that for every dollar spent on cannabis, 6 there was an additional $3 in economic benefits for the industry, in activities such as real estate, legal and accounting services. Initial data also point to the medicinal cannabis industry’s growing potential. Grand View research has estimated a potential medicinal cannabis market size of approximately US$37.0 billion in 2018 and expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.9 per cent from 2019 to 2026 in medical tourism. If member countries are to capitalise on the potential of this market, they will require adjustments to new trends in medical tourism, such as the establishment of proper health standards, having the requisite infrastructure, appropriate health and emergency facilities as well as competent medical personnel. To appreciate some of the potential employment benefits of the legal cannabis industry, the report considers recent data from the USA and Canada. Based on estimates by Leafly, an online magazine related to the cannabis industry, the industry remains one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the USA. The online magazine noted that although cannabis remained federally illegal in the USA and therefore disregarded by the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the legal cannabis industry had created 211,000 full-time jobs in the USA (Leafly, 2019). These employment benefits, while extensive, cannot be replicated in developing countries such as in the ECCU. These advanced economies have been successful in generating significant jobs in the industry in large part because of the existence of a supportive institutional and policy environment, such as more advanced facilities including universities, laboratories, R&D, as well agricultural and ICT skills, all of which have supported medical cannabis research and investment. Without these advanced facilities, it may take several years before the region can achieve this potential. The emerging sector is also likely to generate significant fiscal benefits to government, in the form of licence fees and sales taxes, assuming taxes are levied on medicinal cannabis. Given the nascent stage of the industry and the associated legislative framework, it may be difficult to assess the true extent of the fiscal benefits to governments from the new industry. A comprehensive assessment

6 The report considers both medicinal and recreational cannabis