CMI Projects Double-Digit Expansion for Cannabis Testing Market

LOS ANGELES – A recent analysis from Custom Market Insights (CMI) forecasts the global Cannabis testing market to climb from $2.13 billion in 2025 to $11.15 billion by 2034, powered by a CAGR of 18%. The projection underscores how stricter quality controls in an industry still navigating patchwork regulations could sustain steady investment in lab infrastructure and analytical tools.

This outlook aligns with broader trends in Cannabis commercialization. As more countries greenlight medical and recreational use, producers face mandatory checks for potency, contaminants, and pesticides. CMI points to North America as the current leader, thanks to mature markets in the U.S. and Canada, but flags Asia Pacific for the quickest gains, where regulatory setups are catching up to demand. Europe, meanwhile, could see labs consolidate to meet harmonized standards under the European Pharmacopoeia, which tightened contaminant thresholds this year.

Yet the numbers invite scrutiny. Other firms paint a more measured picture. MarketsandMarkets pegs the sector at $1.8 billion last year, heading to $4 billion by 2029 at 17.2% growth, driven by the same legalization tailwinds but tempered by setup costs for advanced gear like chromatography systems. Zion Market Research offers a middle ground: $1.91 billion in 2024 to $7.38 billion by 2034, at 16.2%. And Precedence Research comes in lower, at $2.68 billion in 2025 to $6.64 billion by 2034, with a 10.6% clip, citing slower adoption in emerging spots.

What explains the spread? It boils down to assumptions on global rollout. The CMI figure bets big on uniform enforcement: if interstate commerce in the U.S. finally eases testing bottlenecks, or if Latin America’s decriminalization wave, from Colombia to Uruguay, mandates uniform protocols. But history shows hurdles: inconsistent methods across labs have sparked “lab shopping” controversies, where operators pick lenient testers, eroding trust. Mordor Intelligence, forecasting $1.26 billion in 2025 to $2.33 billion by 2030 at 13.1%, highlights mergers like SC Laboratories and Botanacor as a response, aiming to build scale amid these gaps.

The variance signals opportunity laced with risk. Take segmentation: potency and microbial testing dominate now, per MarketsandMarkets, as they tie directly to consumer safety. But terpene profiling and heavy metal scans could surge if pharma-grade Cannabis takes off, think clinical trials for chronic pain or epilepsy. Grand View Research echoes this, projecting $1.8 billion in 2023 to $5.39 billion by 2030 at about 17%, with services outpacing hardware sales. Investors might eye firms like Agilent Technologies or Eurofins Scientific, which lead in instrumentation and compliance services, but only if they adapt to regional quirks – Europe’s high costs vs. Asia’s volume play.

Critically, these forecasts assume regulators keep pace. Without it, growth stalls: the U.S. alone saw license reviews intensify this year, delaying expansions. Still, the baseline looks solid. Cannabis’s medicinal shift, from edibles to topicals, demands verifiable purity, and that’s non-negotiable as the plant moves from fringe to pharmacy shelf.

The 18% trajectory may prove ambitious, but even at 13-16% testing stands as Cannabis’s backbone, ensuring the green rush doesn’t sour. The real winners will be those labs bridging data silos, turning compliance from chore to competitive edge. The numbers are subject to change, but the mandate remains the same: excel on the test, or risk failing.