The cannabis market has transformed its domination toward Asia.

Is weed’s arrival to the Asian continent welcome?

The cannabis market has transformed its domination toward Asia.?

The transforming domination of the cannabis market is due to globalization and the westernized impact on the Asian continent. Expansion of the cannabis market to the Asia continent introduces tension to countries about the prospects of cannabis legalization and its following issues. Some country shows their support for making cannabis decriminalized for medical, therapeutic, and recreational reasons as the cannabis market brings in both opportunities and drawbacks.

However, the majority of countries remain hesitant about the usage of cannabis for either therapeutic or medical usage or pure enjoyment. The market development of cannabis causes rivals and conflicts within and among countries. The following case study explains the country stances of each country under the discussion of entry into the cannabis industry and further legalization. Moreover, it also provides some insight into disputes caused by it.?

The statistic about the Asia cannabis market

It is obvious to examine the cannabis market and customers' behavior in Asia by inspecting the revenue generated from medical, recreational, and therapeutic cannabis. The Statista report shows the forecasted market growth of the cannabis market to reach US$1,662.00 million in 2023. This is compared to the past revenue generated from 2021, which is only USD$1,275.97 million. The growing market worth also presents how cannabis gradually emerges into the Asian market and is accepted and used.

The most dominant cannabis market worldwide

United States?

The United States only has federal prohibition toward the usage of cannabis compared to other countries making it illegal. There are 19 states that allow cannabis to be used for medical and recreational purposes. The cannabis industry also brings in good economical changes, one of the most obvious and significant ones is job creation and employment in the cannabis industry.

The cannabis industry also helps states to provide employment to people during a pandemic. There was an increase in jobs from 2019 to 2021 due to the expansion of the cannabis market. There were only 32,700 jobs in 2019, which increased to 77,300 in 2020. After another year it finally came to 107,059 jobs opportunity for people. However, drug abuse in the states does create problems such as overdoses since there are 91,799 cases of overdose deaths from 2019 to 2020.

Variety of approaches for countries to incorporate cannabis market transformation towards Asia

Thailand?

Thailand became the first leading Asia country to legalize cannabis usage and also is the third country worldwide to legalize the usage of cannabis followed by Canada and Uruguay. In the decision for Thailand to remove Cannabis from the narcotic control list, there are two sides to every coin, which creates conflict within the county.

The abrupt establishment of the regulation is not complete enough to protect all ranges of people from accessing cannabis. The legal use of cannabis creates emergency issues such as lack of control over teenagers and pregnants accessibility.

Social issues arose in Thailand after the establishment of the new norms that decriminalized the usage of cannabis for enjoyment. People with low income become drug addicts, and they occupied almost 2 percent of the population in Thailand. Therefore, adjustment of law and education reformation should be propelled with the newly announced law to better protect people in Thailand. On the other hand, this law also brings in tourism to try cannabis in Thailand and boosts the local economy.?

Small steps from accepting cannabis?

While some countries actively adopting to the entry of the cannabis market, most of the countries stayed opposed to the usage of cannabis for any purpose. The laws of these countries remain unchanged in response to the cannabis industry.?

Taiwan?

Taiwan also stayed opposed to legalizing cannabis usage, yet, Taiwanese activists and experts are encouraging and promoting the legalization of cannabis. These weed enthusiasts even organized a weed parade to call upon actions and national awareness.

There is even an organization named Green Sensation dedicated to fostering the cannabis market interest in Taiwan. Taiwanese reaction to the entry of the cannabis market into the Asian continent seems to be torn into two poles, where some remain opposed to the idea of decriminalizing its usage, and some are strongly passionate about legalizing cannabis.??

Future Anticipation?

As the growth of the cannabis market is not shrinking, it is possible to develop a more significant market growth in the future. The cannabis market is estimated to be $100 billion by 2026. However, the usage of cannabis depends on the country's regulations, and we must respect and obey the decision our country make.