Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF
The opportunity in just medical marijuana usage in the U.S. alone is significant. According to New Frontier Data, the medical marijuana market in the United States is projected to reach approximately $11 billion USD total sales by 2020.
The growth of the medical marijuana market doesn’t take into consideration factors such as the current demand for opioid alternatives for pain management, of which cannabis derivatives are a potential candidate. There is a growing recognition by policy makers in North America about the negative consequences of opioid addiction and a strong need to address it directly.
According to an academic article published by the B.C. Centre for Addictions Research (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2012.684624), cannabis pain killers, when used in conjunction with opioid pain killers in chronic pain treatment, seem to significantly reduce the likelihood of addiction to opioid medication. Further research is currently being conducted at University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus to determine if cannabis can be an outright substitute for opioid-based pain relievers. (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/11/a-new-test-of-pots-potential-to-replace-painkillers/507200/)
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