“What is your opinion on the quality of data and statistics currently available regarding the global medical cannabis market?”
The medical cannabis market outside North America is still in an early stage of development, and this is reflected in the quality and consistency of the available data. Unlike established pharmaceutical or agricultural sectors, the data collection infrastructure is not yet fully developed: there are few retail or pharmacy panels with a representative sample of the sector—for example, online pharmacies specializing in cannabis are not usually part of traditional panels—which makes it difficult to correctly interpret sales or consumption patterns.
Furthermore, although international narcotics legislation is partially harmonized under the INCB, each country interprets the data differently. Registration, classification, and reporting criteria vary even within the European Union, complicating comparability between markets. Added to this is the diversity of verticals: the medical market requires clinical, pharmaceutical, and prescription information, while the CBD market operates in entirely different channels—tobacco, OTC, modern retail, e-commerce—and demands completely different commercial metrics.
In this context, there is no single methodology capable of capturing the complexity of a constantly evolving sector. At Cannamonitor, we work precisely to fill that gap, developing market intelligence methodologies that combine the generation of primary data through surveys and polls with the integration of official sources, third-party databases, and open directories.
The expansion and modeling of external information allows us to offer detailed and accurate market mapping, producing strategic reports to advise specific clients on issues as diverse as demand forecasts, price trends, product offerings, and competitive positioning.
In our analyses, we combine official publications, verified data from pharmacies, and industry databases across multiple international jurisdictions, translating the data into practical intelligence and generating evidence-based insights to guide decision-making with greater accuracy and confidence. In the absence of robust datasets, we design our own collection mechanisms—consumer surveys, price surveys of suppliers and buyers, or real-time inventory tracking—that broaden the empirical base and increase analytical accuracy.
This approach not only overcomes data fragmentation, but also validates existing information by cross-checking different data sources, transforming them into practical intelligence to support our clients’ strategic positioning. The North American experience shows that the quality of available data is crucial to responding quickly to market dynamics and is a fundamental factor in competitiveness.
Europe must move towards robust and coordinated information infrastructures between companies, consultancies, and regulators. At Cannamonitor, we contribute precisely to this goal: professionalizing access to reliable and harmonized information, an essential condition for attracting investment, designing effective policies, and consolidating a medical cannabis industry based on transparency, evidence, and quality.
Arnau Valdovinos
Cannamonitor Founder
