NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, June 17, 2019

By Chris Dier-Scalise

For most people in support of a legal cannabis market, the social, medical, and financial benefits of a safe and well-regulated industry built on the cultivation of cannabis are overwhelmingly positive and self-evident.

However, even advocates of the industry might not consider the potential ways in which legal cannabis might impact emerging economies, whose social, medical and financial conditions are unlike many of the more developed states that have seen successful legalization efforts.

A new research report from cannabis research firm New Frontier Data looks at the potential benefits a legal cannabis industry might have for several fast-growing African nations. The “Africa Hemp & Cannabis 2019 Industry Outlook” examines how, if thoughtfully implemented, cannabis cultivation can provide much-needed resources to aid in many of the most pressing problems being confronted by emerging market countries across the world.