According to a new report from cannabis analytics firm New Frontier Data and first reported by Business Day, the African nation of Nigeria is the leader in global cannabis consumption. Nigeria currently has an estimated 20.8 million pot consumers lighting up annually, with more than $15 billion spent on weed every year.
Having legal weed laws on books and entire tourism sectors dedicated to the sweet leaf, you would think that countries like; Canada, United States, Netherlands, Belize, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Argentina, Colombia etc, would be home to world most abundant pot smokers but the case is different as Nigerians generally consume the most weed on the planet, way beyond countries where the plants are legalised.
Cannabis sales are illegal in Nigeria, although there are plans to commence a medical marijuana program in Ondo State but with a profuse cultivation community growing the plant across the country, New Frontier estimates that just below 20% of the nation consumes cannabis every year, with more than 12% sparking up every month.
Canada’s consumption rate ranked second globally after Nigeria with the United States coming in at a close third. But outside of those North American mainstays, Ethiopia and Morocco joined Nigeria as not only top cannabis consumers on the African continent, but across the world.
“Three of the world’s top 10 cannabis consuming nations are in Africa, highlighting both the importance of cannabis reform and related business opportunities throughout the region,” Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, CEO and Founder of New Frontier Data, told Business Day. Also a recent report from Prohibition Partners estimated that, if legalised, Africa’s cannabis market could reach $7.1 billion by 2023, considering the statistics from New Frontier’s global consumption report, it appears that Nigeria could hit those estimates or exceed it.
