Davos 2020 Cannabis Conclave: Uncovering The Future Of The European Market

Medical cannabis in Europe has slowly been gaining traction, but there are still a number of hurdles around regulation that has a lot of catching up to do.

Speaking at the Cannabis Conclave event in Davos, Switzerland last week, Stephen Murphy of Prohibition Partners discussed medical cannabis policy and the importance of knowledge sharing across the continent.

Murphy said big brands have yet to enter the cannabis market, so less competition exists compared to other industries. The market correction offers a window of opportunity for new brands, businesses and ideas to be generated. He stressed cannabis covers numerous industries such as beverages, food, healthcare, beauty, wellness, construction, textiles, engineering, technology, pet care, biofuel and bedding.

“When we first started monitoring and identifying what’s happening in the cannabis space, there were five to six legal markets over the three years we have seen that grow,” said Murphy, who noted the CDB market in particular is really taking off.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people using medical cannabis across the world and we have significant evidence already in place that it justifies the implementation of legislation," he said.

"I think we can put phases in place in terms of access levels to cannabis. The implication of medical cannabis’ availability in Israel and Canada when there are patients in the UK desperately trying to get access and cannot because ‘there is not enough data’ is very skewed thinking."

Murphy said we have started to see a lot of pressure on regulatory bodies all of which have bills, policies and motions around cannabis. There are also major opportunities in R&D and there is a huge knowledge gap that needs to be filled.

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