Ahead of the new online global event Prohibition Partners LIVE which is set to run in place of the annual Cannabis Europa conference usually held at the Southbank in London, Cannabis Europa on 22nd-23rd June, Prohibition Partners, industry-leading data and intelligence firm; have today released new survey intelligence indicating that in the light of the current coronavirus, the lockdown across the world, and the resulting increased global usage; cannabis looks set to become a “recession proof” investment, having been classed as an essential good in the US, Canada and the Netherlands.
In terms of projections for the “new normal” post COVID lockdown, Retail Gazette and others this month reported that generally consumer confidence in the UK remains “battered and bruised” despite the easing of some lockdown restrictions and is set to remain fragile for some time, according to the GFK index”.
However according to new research from Prohibition Partners, cannabis appears to be not only weathering the storm, but thriving - indeed for both recreational and medical use. Most users either expect coronavirus to have no impact on their purchase habits, or expect their consumption to increase. This is most true in categories that are more likely to be used for health and wellness, such as medicinal cannabis and CBD (e.g. oils, tinctures, gummies etc). Overall the US and UK are expected to use more, not less CBD/hemp infused consumer goods in the next three months, possibly as they turn to alternatives to other intoxicating substances, or for products that can help ease stressors of the prolonged lockdown.
Prohibition Partners surveyed 3,155 adults aged 16+ who have used recreational cannabis in the last year across Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US and found when it comes to recreational cannabis 32% of users expected their consumption to increase. For medical cannabis across the same countries, Prohibition Partners surveyed 1,817 adults aged 16+ who have used medicinal cannabis in the last 12 months. Here the results were higher still with 47% of those surveyed expecting consumption to remain the same whilst 35% expected to increase their consumption
In terms of medical treatment, since 2018, millions of people in the US have come to view cannabis as a safe and effective treatment. And this is now extending to the UK. Since April 2019 cannabis has been available to patients on NHS prescription; Jonathan Nadler - Group Managing Director of one of the UK’s largest medical cannabis access group, LYPHE GROUP; exclusively told Prohibition Partners “In the last 12 months, UK prescriptions for medical cannabis have seen an 150% rise, and we are hopeful for considerable continued growth for the rest of 2020. We calculate growth by considering public information on fulfilled prescriptions and estimating the private prescriber and prescription numbers. Furthermore - there has been a significant step change since the beginning of COVID-19, with a larger volume of patients and a much quicker process to complete the initial consultation with the patient”
These findings align with previous conclusions across the industry over the past month:
- According to CNBC, in the US “Average store revenue is up 52% to 130% compared with January at more than 1,300 stores using [California based] cannabis e-commerce platform Jane Technologies”.
- On home soil, for the legal CBD market, the story is looking similar in the UK, albeit on a smaller scale, with recent research by Prohibition Partners indicating that:
o A phenomenal 20% of the UK population aged 16+ have used CBD in the last 12 months
o This equates to over 13 million UK users and gives a projected spend of £527 million in 2020.
o Furthermore, data indicates an expected growth to value sales of around 20% year-on-year
o This in the main, is driven by the fact that an additional 10% of UK consumers state that they intend to use CBD in the next 12 months – which equates another 6.7 million users in the UK market
Prohibition Partners LIVE will further these findings on day one on the PROCAPITAL stage (in partnership with MAZAKALI). To find out more or to book tickets, prospective attendees can visit: https://prohibitionpartners.live
Managing Director of Prohibition Partners Stephen Murphy stated “With a recession inevitable, and a global depression a distinct possibility, investors are working hard to find the most recession proof options. Cannabis may well turn out to be one of the best bets out there. People want the safest options to help them both medically and mentally – and for many cannabis is clearly the answer. It’s no secret that cannabis stocks were far from immune from the initial coronavirus related stock market plunge, taking a notable dip even as sales spiked. This was attributed to analysts and investors being unsure whether the increased sales were sustainable - especially as 2019 had had a bumpy ride regarding stock price. However, what we are seeing now is that whilst most sectors are still struggling amid COVID-19, there has been an increased demand for cannabis and we continue to expect new markets to come online. Whilst certain stocks will struggle and all investments carry risk, signs point towards cannabis being likely to be one of the better markets to ride out the recession”
This and much more is set to be discussed at Prohibition Partners LIVE global virtual conference with two days of live-streamed keynotes, debate and targeted virtual networking, and guests including Kelis; Singer of the Grammy Award Nominated “Milkshake” and Star of Netflix 2020 show “Cooked with Cannabis” // Professor David Nutt Imperial College London // Kim Rivers CEO, Trulieve Cannabis Corp // Piernicola Pedicini, Italian MEP // João Castel-Branco Goulão Portuguese National Drugs and Alcohol Coordinator // CJ Wallace Think Big Founder, Think BIG and son of notorious B.I.G alongside business partner Willie Mack // Steve DeAngelo 'Father of the Cannabis Industry', Chairman & Co-Founder, Harborside Inc // Amanda Fielding Director, Beckley Foundation and Bruce Linton Founder & Former CEO, Canopy Growth. Tickets can be purchased here