The medical marijuana market is slated to gain substantial momentum over the coming years owing to high product usage in applications such as pain management, seizures, nausea, and anorexia among others. Medical marijuana, also known as medical cannabis, is a plant-based medicine from the Cannabis indica or Cannabis sativa species with mainly three active compounds namely CBN, CBD, and THC.

The marijuana plant comprises of more than 100 different types of chemicals named cannabinoids. It has been used in the form of medicine for nearly thousands of years mainly to treat diseases or other conditions. Today, cannabis is not legal in a number of U.S. states.

In fact, the FDA has only approved it for treatment of two rare types and severe forms of epilepsy, namely Dravet syndrome as well as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. However, perceptions around the plant are changing at a rapid pace and there have been several legislative efforts to make it legal for consumption.

The medical marijuana market is bifurcated into several segments in terms of application, route of administration, distribution channel, and regional landscape.

In terms of application, the market for medical marijuana is classified into seizures, anorexia, nausea, muscle spasms, pain management, and others. In 2020, the anorexia application segment accounted for approximately $618.7 billion and will exhibit similar growth over the coming time period. Marijuana is extremely useful for treating various symptoms of anorexia such as the lack of appetite, which is one of the main symptom of anorexia.

Meanwhile, the seizures segment is slated to see an impressive CAGR of around 19.5% over the forecast time period. CBD or cannabidiol is known to have shown positive effects on certain body parts. It has been effective in decreasing seizures in some people having epilepsy. Besides, the FDA has also approved Epidiolex, which is made from CBD, as an efficient therapy for people with very hard-to-treat or severe seizures.

In 2020, the others segment accounted for an overall market share of 4.9% and is estimated to follow a strong growth trend over the coming years.

With respect to route of administration, the medical marijuana market is categorized into topical, oral, and inhalation. In 2020, the oral route of administration segment accounted for 22.1% of the overall market share and is estimated to progress at rapid pace over the projected period.

From a therapeutic viewpoint, intake of oral cannabis is very much promising owing to its easy administration, long-lasting effects of drugs, as well as reduced toxicity largely derived from pyrolytic by-products.

Based on distribution channel, the overall market is divided into online and dispensaries. Online segment will grow at 19.8% CAGR throughout the forecast timeframe.

On the regional front, the rest of world is expected to witness around 23.6% CAGR through the analysis time period.