On June 9th, 2024, voters in Slovenia cast their votes as part of the European Parliamentary election. Two of the measures that Slovenian voters decided on involved consultation cannabis referendums – one for personal recreational cannabis and another for domestic medical cannabis production. Both measures were approved.
Over 51.5% of voters chose ‘for’ when asked the question, “Should the Republic of Slovenia allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use on its territory?”
Additionally, 66.65% of voters in Slovenia chose ‘for’ when asked the question, “Should the Republic of Slovenia allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes on its territory?”
Slovenia is already a well-established international research hub, and if policies are modernized to permit domestic cannabis production, research, and product development, it’s quite possible that Slovenia could become a global cannabis industry leader for such activity. Lawmakers in Slovenia will have the final say on the matter, however, the resounding message sent by Slovenia’s voters on June 9th is abundantly clear.
According to Statista:
- The overall cannabis market in Slovenia is projected to reach a revenue of US$49.02m by the end of 2024, showing an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 3.79%, resulting in a market volume of US$59.03m by 2029.
- Slovenia’s medical cannabis sector is projected to reach US$40.28m by the end of 2024, experiencing a steady annual growth rate of 4.06% from 2024 to 2029, resulting in a market volume of US$49.16m by the end of the forecast period
- In Slovenia, the revenue in the CBD products sector is estimated to reach US$6.86m in 2024 and experience an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 1.58%, leading to a market volume of US$7.42m by 2029
According to an analysis by Marihuana Marš, Študentska Organizacija Univerze v Ljubljani, and published by the International Cannabis Business Conference, in Slovenia there are currently over 200,000 cannabis users, and each year, approximately 2,000 recorded criminal offenses involve cannabis.
A report published by Research and Markets projects that the legal global cannabis market will be worth an estimated $125.4 billion by 2030. Research and Markets also recently published a report projecting that the global medical cannabis sector will be worth$82.5 billion by 2030.
“The global market for Legal Marijuana estimated at US$30.6 Billion in the year 2023, is projected to reach a revised size of US$125.4 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 22.3% over the analysis period 2023-2030.” Research and Markets stated in a press release.
The global cannabidiol (CBD) market was worth an estimated $7.6 billion in 2023 according to a previous market analysis by Market.us, and will climb to a projected $36.6 in value by 2033.
“Between 2023 and 2032, this market is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 27%.” the researchers stated.
The global cannabis edibles market is projected to reach $27.2 billion by 2030 according to a previous market analysis by Fairfield Market Research. For comparison purposes, the same researchers estimated that the global cannabis edibles market was worth $9.6 billion in 2022.
“This robust growth will be driven by a multitude of factors, including shifting consumer preferences away from smoking cannabis, and rising awareness of the health benefits associated with cannabis edibles.” Fairfield Market Research stated in a press release.
According to an analysis by New Frontier Data, cannabis consumers around the globe “spent an estimated $415 billion on high-THC cannabis in 2020” and that figure is expected to increase to to $496 billion by 2025.
“Much of the world has not yet legalized cannabis, and nearly all the demand resides in illicit or unregulated markets. In 2020, 94% of high-THC cannabis spend was in unregulated channels.” New Frontier Data states.
New Frontier Data has determined that sales of high-THC cannabis products through legal regulated outlets totaled $23.7 billion in 2020 and that legal sales are projected to reach $51 billion by 2025. New Frontier Data estimates that legal cannabis sales of adult-use cannabis “are projected to be double those of legal medical sales by 2025, despite the higher number of medical markets globally.”