Based on a new report from Marijuana Business Daily, year-over-year cannabis sales in Europe are climbing. The statistics spell out promising things for investors in the European medical cannabis market, with the recent report spotlighting how future demand for the plant could surge as more of its medical benefits are exposed.

Titled, “Medical Cannabis in Europe: The Markets & Opportunities,” the report was written by Alfredo Pascual, who serves as an international analyst for MJBizDaily. In order to conduct a forecast for the medical cannabis industry with accuracy, Pascual believes that it is imperative investors gain a clearer understanding of the current situation.

“It’s the first report that estimates for the year 2018 how much was sold in each relevant country, the types of products, how these were distributed and where they were produced,” Pascual explained.

Based on the details of the report, just three European countries had notable medical cannabis sales last year. Those countries were Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Year-over-year cannabis sales in Europe doubled between 2017 and 2018; influenced by increasing demand in both Germany and Italy. However, the number of medical cannabis prescriptions reduced during that same time period in the Netherlands.

A handful of other countries in the European Union approached cannabis legislation last year or at the very least, made amendments to improve regulations surrounding the medical cannabis industry. Monitoring each market’s regulatory advancement is essential since the process of establishing a medical cannabis industry can take years, especially when regulations are put on the back-burner.

“The number of countries with some medical cannabis legislation and their population numbers should be interpreted with caution,” Pascual said. “To have a complete picture, companies and investors interested in the European market should also consider how much it’s actually being sold and how restrictive regulations are.”

“Significant time might pass from the moment a country approves certain medical cannabis legislation and a real market emerges.”

Countries in which this has happened include the Czech Republic, Croatia, and North Macedonia. Even years after medical cannabis programs were implemented in these European countries, the markets are still somewhat insignificant.

Opportunities in the European medical cannabis market exist in the following areas, according to the report:

• German export opportunities, contingent on domestic demand being met in the future.
• Developing cultivation and production facilities in the European countries that permit it, or at the very least, are getting ready for it. They include Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Malta, North Macedonia, and Portugal.
• International cannabis policy considerations at a United Nations and European Union level.
• The most promising markets, such as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
• European countries that created a framework with a vision of exporting.
• Countries with smaller national medical cannabis programs.
• Pascual says that the report – which is free to download – pinpoints the most relevant countries in which the medical cannabis business could soon be booming.