A Detailed Look at Cannabis Sales in California, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada
Data provided by BDSA indicates that cannabis sales continued their robust expansion in 5 Western states, though seasonal trends resulted in declines from the prior month. During September, the first anniversary of the vaping crisis and the seventh month of the pandemic impacting the market, sales across the five markets totaled $805.9 million, down 4% from August, which followed a 1% sequential decline in July, and sequential increases of 12% in June, 2% in May and 14% in April. March had spiked dramatically to $666.0 million from $579.9 million in February as customers purchased cannabis ahead of store closures and concerns about limitations on access. With the near-term effects of the pandemic now behind us, it’s clear that cannabis demand is surging, even in relatively mature markets, like Oregon and Colorado.
Overall sales growth from a year ago among the five Western markets ranged from 32% in Colorado to as high as 43% in Nevada. Arizona grew 39%, while Oregon continued its strong growth, rising 38%. The largest market, California, grew 33%, its third consecutive month of strong gains after a long period of being relatively flat growth. Note that the comparisons to a year ago were easier given that the sales began to be impacted negatively by the vaping crisis a year ago, but, with the exception of Arizona, growth in flower exceeded growth in concentrates in all markets.
Here is a closer look at each market, as detailed by BDSA:
Arizona
In September 2020, cannabis sales in Arizona’s medical dispensaries reached $85.4 million, declining seven percent from August. Compared to the previous September, sales in Arizona grew over 39 percent. Year-to-date through September, sales have reached $766.8 million, increasing by $247.6 million and 48 percent compared to the same period last year.
Flower sales accounted for over 48 percent of overall revenue for the month with $41.2 million in sales, decreasing seven percent from August. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for just under five percent of revenue with $3.9 million in sales. Compared to the previous September, Flower sales increased by 31 percent and Pre-rolled Joints increased by 84 percent.
Concentrate sales accounted for 36 percent of overall revenues with sales totaling $30.6 million in September, declining eight percent from the trailing month. Vape products, the largest segment of the Concentrates category, generated $19.3 million in sales, accounting for 63 percent of the Arizona Concentrates market and 23 percent of sales across all categories. Compared to September 2019, sales of Dabbable Concentrates grew by 58 percent, while Vape sales grew by 51 percent.
The Ingestibles category accounted for more than ten percent of revenues in September with $8.6 million in sales for the month. Compared to September 2019 and August 2020, sales in the category grew by 31 percent and decreased by nine percent, respectively. In September, the $8 million in sales from Edibles generated over 93 percent of Ingestibles sales overall, while Sublinguals made up the remaining seven percent. Compared to the previous September, Edibles sales increased by 39 percent and Sublingual sales decreased by 30 percent.
California
BDSA sales reporting for the month of September reflects the state’s regulated market of 705 licensed dispensary locations and 312 delivery operators.
In September 2020, cannabis sales for state licensed retailers and delivery services reached $331.1 million, declining nearly four percent from the trailing month and increasing over 33 percent compared to September 2019. Year to date, sales in California have reached $2.6 billion, more than a 17 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Sales from Flower generated $141.4 million in September 2020, accounting for nearly 43 percent of overall revenues. Compared to the trailing month and September 2019, Flower sales decreased by two percent and grew by 59 percent, respectively. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for 11 percent of overall September revenues with $36.5 million in sales.
Concentrates were the second-largest category by revenue in September 2020, reaching $95.8 million in sales and accounting for nearly 29 percent of total revenue. Compared to the trailing month and September 2019, sales decreased by six percent and increased by more than 18 percent, respectively. The $72.4 million in Vape sales accounted for nearly 76 percent of the Concentrates category and 22 percent of the month’s overall sales revenue. Year-to-date through September, vape sales remain nearly seven percent below the same time frame in 2019.
In September 2020, Ingestibles generated $47.6 million in sales, decreasing by three percent from the trailing month. Compared to September 2019, sales of Ingestibles grew by nearly 13 percent. Edibles contributed 87 percent of Ingestibles revenue, while Sublinguals made up the remaining 13 percent. Compared to September 2019, the Edibles and Sublinguals categories grew by 24 percent and declined by 30 percent, respectively.
Colorado
During September 2020, sales in Colorado’s adult-use and medical dispensaries reached a combined $207 million, declining six percent from August. Compared to the previous September, sales increased by nearly 32 percent. Adult-use sales grew by 30 percent from September 2019 while medical sales grew by 37 percent. Year-to-date through September, combined channel sales have reached over $1.6 billion, increasing 24 percent from the same period last year.
In September, Flower sales accounted for nearly 47 percent of total monthly revenues, totaling at $97.1 million. Flower sales decreased six percent from the trailing month and grew 40 percent from the previous September. Year-to-date sales have increased by 41 percent in the category over the same period last year. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked separately from Flower, generated $13.5 million in sales for September 2020, growing 34 percent from September 2019 and declining two percent compared to the trailing month.
The $60.2 million in Concentrate sales during September 2020 represented a 23 percent increase from the previous year and a seven percent decline from the trailing month. The category accounted for over 29 percent of revenue for the month. Sales in the Vape category reached $29.8 million in September, decreasing seven percent compared to August and growing 17 percent from the previous September. The Vape category accounted more than 49 percent of Concentrates’ revenue and 14 percent of overall sales for the month. Year-to-date through September, sales of vape are nearly even with the same time period in 2019.
In September 2020, sales from Ingestibles generated $31.3 million, a 28 percent increase from September 2019. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the category declined by seven percent. Edibles generated $29.3 million in monthly sales revenue, contributing nearly 94 percent to sales in the Ingestibles category and 14 percent of total revenue for the month. Sublinguals made up the remaining six percent of Ingestibles sales, totaling at $1.9 million for the month.
Nevada
In September, Nevada dispensaries generated $82.6 million in sales. Compared to September of 2019, sales grew by 43 percent. Compared to the trailing month, sales decreased by one percent. Year-to-date through September, sales in the market have reached $588.4 million, growing by 14 percent compared to the same period last year.
Flower sales accounted for 56 percent of overall September 2020 sales. Sales in the category reached $46.3 million for the month, staying about the same from August. Pre-rolled Joints, tracked separately from Flower, accounted for more nearly 11 percent of September sales with $9 million in revenue. Compared to September 2019, Flower and Pre-rolled Joints sales have increased by 82 percent and by three percent, respectively.
Concentrate sales in September reached $17.3 million, accounting for nearly 21 percent of overall revenue for the month. Compared to the previous September, category sales increased by 29 percent. Compared to the trailing month, category sales decreased by seven percent. Vape products, the largest segment in the Concentrates category, generated $12.7 million for the month, contributing nearly 74 percent to Concentrates revenue and more than 15 percent to total monthly sales. Year-to-date through September, vape sales have declined six percent from the same time period in 2019.
Sales in the Ingestibles category accounted for over ten percent of all revenues, totaling $8.5 million in September sales and increasing by about one percent from the previous year. Compared to August, category stayed about the same. Edibles made up 91 percent of the Ingestibles category, reaching $7.8 million in September revenue. Sublingual sales contributed the remaining nine percent. Compared to the trailing month, edibles and sublinguals revenues increased two percent and decreased 16 percent respectively.
Oregon
In September 2020, adult-use and medical sales in Oregon’s dispensaries reached a combined $99.8 million. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the Oregon market declined by about four percent. Compared to September 2019, sales grew by 38 percent overall. Year-to-date sales in Oregon have reached $824.3 million, growing by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
Sales of Flower generated $47.2 million in September 2020, accounting for more than 47 percent of overall revenues. Compared to the trailing month, Flower sales decreased by three percent. Compared to September 2019, sales increased by 47 percent. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for ten percent of overall revenues with $9.7 million in sales.
Concentrates generated $26.6 million in September sales. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the category decreased six percent. Compared to September 2019, sales in the category grew by nearly 39 percent. Vape products, the largest segment in the Concentrates category, generated $14.5 million in September, contributing over 54 percent of Concentrates sales and more than 14 percent of total monthly revenue. Year-to-date through September, vape sales are three percent below the same period in 2019.
In September 2020, Ingestibles generated over $13.3 million in sales, a two percent decrease from the previous month. Compared to September 2019, sales of Ingestibles grew by over 15 percent. Edibles, which made up 82 percent of the Ingestibles category and 11 percent of overall monthly sales, generated $11 million in September 2020.
For readers looking for a deeper look at cannabis markets across these five states and more, including segmentation by additional product categories, brand and item detail, longer history, and segmentation by product attributes, learn how the BDSA GreenEdge Platform can provide you with unlimited access to the most accurate and actionable data and analysis.
