EXCLUSIVE: Why This Billionaire Cannabis Exec Is Looking To Europe For Industry's Next Growth Stage

The last decade is a story of the U.S. cannabis industry building to an almost $30-billion business in the face of regulatory opposition, Curaleaf Holdings Inc CURLF Executive Chairman Boris Jordan said Wednesday — and Europe is the next growth frontier.

“I’m super excited about Europe,” said Jordan, who kicked off the two-day Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami Beach on Wednesday.

Legal Cannabis Ramps On The Continent: The development of legal cannabis in Europe is on a longer time frame than in the U.S., and it’s mostly a pharmaceutical model, the billionaire cannabis exec said in a conversation with Jim Kirsch of Alliance Global Partners.

In Europe, Curaleaf can grow and manufacture cannabis in Portugal and distribute to Israel, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and “hopefully, soon, to the Middle East,” he said.

See Also: Boris Jordan On Next Steps To Legal Cannabis, Why 'We've Never Been Closer Than We Are Now'

Countries For Cannabis Investors To Watch: The U.K. “has the best medical law I’ve seen anywhere in the world,” Jordan said. “Basically, we have free reign.”

It’s a country of 60 million people with a “very liberal” medical cannabis law and direct-to-consumer capabilities, he said.

The Curaleaf founder anticipates a move to adult use cannabis in Germany in early 2024.

“The way Germany goes, the rest of Europe goes.”

And the Middle East? “I’m telling you, it’s coming,” he told the Benzinga conference.

Israel is “going to be a great market,” Jordan said.

The United Arab Emirates could become the first Middle Eastern country to legalize medical cannabis, he said.

The Last Word: “The European theater is the next big market for cannabis after the U.S.,” Jordan said.