There's a groundswell of support for cannabis legalisation in the United States, with 29 states, as well as Washington D.C. approved for medicinal cannabis, and eight for lifestyle use.
Things are farther ahead in Canada. Regulations for production and sales have been in place for over three years, and the federal government has introduced a timeline to full federal legalisation for lifestyle use in July 2018. Capacity in Canada for lifestyle alone is projected to reach "5 billion dollars per year to start," according to a recent report from Deloitte.
Yet, while many investors focus on opportunities stemming from Canada's upcoming legalization – plus the longer-term investment potential in what will likely be a growing number of American states – they are missing the global shift in cannabis towards Western Europe. That's where the action is really heating up.
The population of the United States is approximately 325 million. There are 35 million living in Canada. But compare that to the European Union's population of 510 million. Germany, with more than 80 million people alone, legalized medicinal cannabis in January of this year. Add that to Italy's nascent existing medicinal cannabis program.