A study by the University of Sydney has estimated that Australians will consume up to 8,000kg of medical cannabis during the first year of it's legalisation, potentially creating a $100 million industry during the first year alone.

The white paper, Medicinal Cannabis in Australia: Science, Regulation and Industry , produced by the University of Sydney Business School and medical cannabis company MCG Pharmaceuticals, is the first of its kind to study the logistic, economic and medicinal benefits of an Australian medical cannabis industry. The data used in the study was pulled from sales trends in Israel, Canada and the Netherlands when they legalised medical cannabis.

Already a $250 billion global industry, Canadian firm Tilray has predicted it could become a billion-dollar industry in Australia and create thousands of skilled jobs in the process.

University of Sydney Business School associate lecturer Michael Katz says Australia is in a unique position to become one of the world's leading exporters of the new therapeutic good.

"We’re talking $100 million in year one, that’s the latent demand that’s already there," Mr Katz told news.com.au .

"We’re not talking about increased uptake, exports, and that doesn’t include the next tech billionaire who develops an app [to tap into the market]."