More and more citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany are using cannabis. The proportion of regular users has more than doubled within the last 10 years, according to a new infographic from Block-Builders.de. The trend is quite the opposite in countries where marijuana is already legal or decriminalised.
Before legalisation, 9.8% of 8th graders in the Northwest USA reported having used cannabis in the past month. After legalisation, the proportion dropped to 7.3%. Authors of another survey evaluated statements from more than 1.4 million US adolescents. They again found that more people used cannabis before decriminalisation. As the infographics show, decriminalisation reduced the probability of cannabis use by up to 8% on average.
A similar picture emerges in the Netherlands, according to the assessment of the Scientific Service: “Despite the de facto decriminalisation of cannabis, the Netherlands has a lifetime prevalence that in recent years was slightly above, but now is below the European average”.
Cannabis Prevalence Worldwide
Globally there is a trend towards increased cannabis use among populations. Europe however has had by far the largest increase in consumption. This is revealed by data from the “World Drug Report 2020”, according to which the number of users has risen by 26.2% within 6 years. Worldwide consumers increased by 10% in the same period.
Cannabis companies are on the one hand benefitting from this growth. However, a look at the stock exchange floor does not suggest a rally – on the contrary. Listed marijuana manufacturers have had to accept losses of up to 90.4% within the last year (Aurora Cannabis). This is despite the fact that revenues have increased significantly. Growth on the stock market certainly seems to be slower than anticipated.
Less Focus On Cannabis Stocks
Analyses of Google data finds demand for “cannabis shares” at a low point in an annual review. The Google trend score, which indicates the relative search volume, currently stands at 22. A value of 100 stands for the greatest possible interest.
Various forecasts suggest that growth in this sector is far from having reached the end of the line. Sales of cannabis confectionery alone are expected to increase to $3,086 million US by 2025, according to data from “Grand View Research”. This would correspond to an increase of about 330%.
The study demonstrates that the political narrative that criminalisation reduces consumption is based on weak foundations. Decriminalisation on the contrary seems to make consumption even less attractive, especially for young people. On the other hand, it is becoming apparent that (listed) cannabis companies are finding themselves in an ambivalent situation. The sector is growing consistently while stock market prices are plummeting due to unrealistic expectations.
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