Written by The Talman Group on November 6, 2023.
Nowhere on Earth is as exciting from a cannabis policy modernization standpoint right now as the European continent, where several nations are working to modernize their cannabis policies and launch, or expand, regulated cannabis industries.
Europe is already home to two nations that have passed national adult-use reform measures. Malta became the first European nation to do so in late 2021, and Luxembourg became the second nation in Europe to pass such a measure when lawmakers approved a bill earlier this year. The only other nations on Earth that have passed national adult-use measures are Uruguay (2013) and Canada (2018).
Cannabis is the most popular illegal substance in Europe among consumers, which is also true of every other continent. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) estimates that roughly 8% of adults in European Union member nations have consumed cannabis at least one time in the last year.
At least 1.3% of the European Union’s adult population, nearly 4 million people, report consuming cannabis on a daily basis. It’s quite likely that the true figure is considerably greater, being that many people do not feel comfortable admitting to being a cannabis consumer to government officials conducting surveys when cannabis is prohibited.
