95 tons of legal weed were produced in the UK during 2016, turning it into the largest exporter in the world.
Although almost every form of cannabis is banned by the British government, the U.K. is the weed export king.
With over 95 tons of legal weed produced during 2016, accounting for 44.9% of the world total production, the United Kingdom is now officially the largest exporter of cannabis in the world, according to a new report by the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
Canada, on the other hand, is the second-largest producer of cannabis in the world producing over 80 tons of weed, threatening to become number one on the list, as it plans to fully legalize cannabis later this 2018.
Portugal comes third on the list, producing 21 tons of pot, Israel is fourth at 9.2 tons, while Netherlands and Chile, are tied for the fifth spot at 1.4 tons each, all in 2016.
Advocacy groups of weed have pointed the irony of the U.K. government who have mentioned cannabis has no medical value, despite seeing the country at the top of the export list worldwide.
Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst for drug reform advocacy group Transform, said to The Telegraph, “It is scandalous and untenable for the UK government to maintain that cannabis has no medical uses, at the same time as licensing the world’s biggest government approved medical cannabis production and export market (…) It is profoundly unethical, and a violation of the fundamental right to health, to deny people access to medicines that are prescribed by their doctors.”
The most notable absence on the list is the United States, as the report only takes “licit” cannabis production into account, and weed is still federally prohibited inside the United States, complicating the collection of data for the elaboration of the research.
Adopting a weed lifestyle
A UN report states that the licit use of cannabis has been increasing considerably since 2000.
At first, and before 2000, licit use was restricted to scientific research and was reported only by the U.S., now, more and more countries have started to use cannabis and cannabis extracts for medical purposes, as well as for scientific research with information available for every corner of the world.
In 2000, total licit production was 1.4 tons; by 2016 it had increased to 211.3 tons, marking a continuous growth for the acceptance, adoption, and rentability of cannabis even in years to come.
