The Medicinal Cannabis (R)evolution

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It is anticipated that the analgesic qualities of cannabis may gradually displace opioids and contribute to increasing demand for medicinal cannabis.

Global demand for medicinal cannabis is also likely to be boosted in light of further legal reforms worldwide. Recent reports (see for instance, Green, 2019) have highlighted that since the legalization of cannabis in Canada in October 2018, one in four Canadian medicinal cannabis users have cited supply shortages, as they have now found it more difficult to source medicinal cannabis. These references confirm the significant potential global demand for medicinal cannabis and potential markets for the ECCU’s medicinal cannabis exports. If the economies could capture even a small fraction of estimated global demand, it would help to improve their economic fortunes. Notwithstanding the significant potential demand, it is important that these estimates be treated with caution. As other authors have noted, it is often tempting for industry advocates to be over-optimistic about the projections from the analyses, which may result in unrealized expectations. Additionally, much of the potential demand cited above would depend on the rate at which legalisation takes place across countries, and especially, at the federal level in the United States of America.

Opioids are consumed by more than 3.7 million Canadians (Statistics Canada) and over 12 million in England (Kirby, 2019). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) estimated that opioids were responsible for over 400,000 deaths from overdose between 1999 to 2017.

Additionally, cross-border trade in medicinal cannabis is not without its drawbacks. Although some of this potential is already being developed by early-movers in medicinal cannabis legalization, ECCU member countries and firms transacting in medicinal cannabis business will need to adhere to the appropriate international treaties and strict jurisdictional requirements and standards prior to securing the required permits to export to legal developed markets such as