The year 2020 was a dud in many, many ways due to the pandemic. However, it was a record year for the emerging cannabis industry. Cannabis entrepreneurs around the globe sold a record amount of cannabis and cannabis-infused products.

Unfortunately, no countries legalized cannabis for adult use in 2020, but a number of countries either allowed medical cannabis industries to launch or expand. Many cannabis industry projections from years ago focused on the year 2020 and virtually every one of those projections proved to be too conservative.

So what does 2021 have in store for the emerging cannabis industry? Ultimately, only time will tell. Below are some things to consider.

Cannabis Reform in 2021

It is very likely that 2021 will be a banner year for cannabis reform around the globe. For starters, Mexico will hopefully, finally legalize cannabis for adult use, and if or when that happens, it will create the largest adult-use cannabis market on the planet.

It is also at least somewhat likely that one or more other countries will also legalize cannabis for adult use on the European and/or African continent in 2021.

More countries will certainly legalize cannabis for medical use in 2021 and those that already have legal medical cannabis industries operating will expand the parameters of what is allowed.

Cannabis Research

The amount of cannabis research that is likely to occur in 2021 should be substantial. More cannabis research was conducted in 2020 than any other year on record and that trend is likely to continue into 2021. Not only are governments interested in learning more about the cannabis plant, so too are cannabis companies interested in unlocking the secrets of the cannabis plant.

Cannabis research still has a ways to go before being considered ‘embraced’ versus ‘tolerated’ at the global level, but 2021 should be the biggest year for cannabis research in recorded history – even bigger than 2020.

Cannabis Innovation

More inventors and innovators are focusing on the emerging cannabis industry than ever before, and understandably so. The cannabis industry is the fastest growing industry on earth and the financial reward for bringing something truly innovative to the cannabis space is enormous.

It is guaranteed that 2021 will be a very big year for cannabis-related inventions, from new consumption devices to innovative cultivation technology and beyond.