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 October, the first first full month after the anniversary of the vaping crisis and the eighth month of the pandemic impacting the market, sales across the five markets totaled $791 million, down 2% from September, which followed sequential declines of 4% in August and 1% 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 30% in California to as high as 39%% in Arizona and Oregon. Colorado grew 34%, while Nevada increased 32%. The largest market, California, posted strong gains for the fourth consecutive month 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 Oregon, growth in flower exceeded growth in concentrates in all markets.
Here is a closer look at each market, as detailed by BDSA:
Arizona
In October 2020, cannabis sales in Arizona’s medical dispensaries reached $89.3 million, growing nearly five percent from September. Compared to the previous October, sales in Arizona grew almost 39 percent. Year-to-date through October, sales have reached $856.1 million, increasing by $272.4 million and 47 percent compared to the same period last year.
Flower sales accounted for over 50 percent of overall revenue for the month with $44.8 million in sales, increasing nine percent from September. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for just under five percent of revenue with $4.1 million in sales. Compared to the previous October, Flower sales increased by 32 percent and Pre-rolled Joints increased by 87 percent.
Concentrate sales accounted for more than 34 percent of overall revenues with sales totaling $30.8 million in October, staying about the same compared to 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 22 percent of sales across all categories. Compared to October 2019, sales of Dabbable Concentrates grew by 56 percent, while Vape sales grew by 50 percent.
The Ingestibles category accounted for ten percent of sales in October with over $8.5 million in revenue for the month. Compared to October 2019 and September 2020, sales in the category grew by 21 percent and decreased by one percent, respectively. In October, the $8 million in sales from Edibles generated nearly 94 percent of Ingestibles sales overall, while Sublinguals made up the remaining six percent. Compared to the previous October, Edibles sales increased by 28 percent and Sublingual sales decreased by 34 percent.
California
BDSA sales reporting for the month of October reflects the state market of 707 licensed dispensary locations and 312 delivery operators.
In October 2020, cannabis sales for state licensed retailers and delivery services reached $317.1 million, recording a seasonal decline of four percent from the trailing month and growing 30 percent compared to October 2019. Year to date, sales in California have reached $2.9 billion, almost a 19 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Sales from Flower generated $129.5 million in October 2020, accounting for nearly 41 percent of overall revenues. Compared to the trailing month and October 2019, Flower sales declined by eight percent and grew by 44 percent, respectively. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for more than 11 percent of overall October revenues with $36.3 million in sales.
Concentrates remain the second-largest revenue category in October 2020, reaching $94.8 million in sales and accounting for nearly 30 percent of total revenue. Compared to the trailing month and October 2019, sales decreased by one percent and grew by 22 percent, respectively. The $72.2 million in Vape sales accounted for over 76 percent of the Concentrates category and 23 percent of the month’s overall sales revenue.
In October 2020, Ingestibles generated $46.8 million in sales, decreasing by two percent from the trailing month. Compared to October 2019, sales of Ingestibles grew by nearly 12 percent. Edibles contributed more than 86 percent of Ingestibles revenue, while Sublinguals made up the remaining 14 percent. Compared to October 2019, the Edibles and Sublinguals categories grew by 22 percent and declined by 26 percent, respectively.
Colorado
During October 2020, sales in Colorado’s adult-use and medical dispensaries reached a combined $203.3 million, declining two percent from September. Compared to the previous October, sales increased by nearly 34 percent. Adult-use sales grew by 34 percent from October 2019 while medical sales grew by 31 percent. Year-to-date through October, combined channel sales have reached over $1.8 billion, increasing 25 percent from the same period last year.
In October, Flower sales accounted for more than 46 percent of total monthly revenues, totaling at $94.4 million. Flower sales decreased four percent from the trailing month and grew 38 percent from the previous October. Year-to-date sales have increased by 40 percent in the category over the same period last year. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked separately from Flower, generated $13.7 million in sales for October 2020, growing 35 percent from October 2019 and staying about the same compared to the trailing month.
The $60.2 million in Concentrate sales during October 2020 represented a 30 percent increase from the previous year and stayed about the same compared to the trailing month. The category accounted for almost 30 percent of revenue for the month. Vape products, the largest segment within the Concentrates category, reached $29.5 million in October sales, staying about the same compared to September and growing 29 percent from the previous October, respectively. The Vape category accounted almost 49 percent of Concentrates’ revenue and 15 percent of overall sales for the month.
In October 2020, sales from Ingestibles generated $30.6 million, a 33 percent increase from October 2019. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the category declined by two percent. Edibles generated $28.9 million in monthly sales revenue, contributing over 94 percent to category sales and 14 percent of total revenue for the month. Sublinguals made up the remaining six percent of Ingestibles sales, totaling at $1.7 million for the month.
Nevada
In October, Nevada dispensaries generated $82.7 million in sales. Compared to October of 2019, sales grew by over 32 percent. Compared to the trailing month, sales stayed about the same. Year-to-date through October, sales in the market have reached $671.1 million, growing by 16 percent compared to the same period last year.
Flower sales accounted for 54 percent of overall October 2020 sales. Sales in the category reached $44.7 million for the month, declining three percent from September. Pre-rolled Joints, tracked separately from Flower, accounted for more over 11 percent of October sales with nearly $9.4 million in revenue. Compared to October 2019, Flower and Pre-rolled Joints sales have increased by 62 percent and decreased by two percent, respectively.
Concentrate sales in October reached $17.7 million, accounting for about 21 percent of overall revenue for the month. Compared to the previous October, category sales increased by 27 percent. Compared to the trailing month, category sales increased by three percent. Vape products, the largest segment in the Concentrates category, generated $13.1 million for the month, contributing over 74 percent to Concentrates revenue and more than 16 percent to total monthly sales.
Sales in the Ingestibles category accounted for 11 percent of all revenues, totaling $9.2 million in October sales remaining about even from the previous year. Compared to September, category sales increased by eight percent. Edibles made up 91 percent of the Ingestibles category, reaching $8.4 million in October revenue. Sublingual sales contributed the remaining nine percent.
Oregon
In October 2020, Cannabis sales in Oregon’s medical and adult-use dispensaries reached a combined $98.6 million. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the Oregon market declined by about one percent. Compared to October 2019, sales grew by 39 percent overall. Year-to-date sales in Oregon have reached $922.9 million, growing by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
Sales of Flower generated $45.7 million in October 2020, accounting for 46 percent of overall revenues. Compared to the trailing month, Flower sales decreased by three percent. Compared to October 2019, sales increased by 42 percent. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for nine percent of overall revenues with $9.3 million in sales.
Concentrates generated $27 million in October sales. Compared to the trailing month, sales in the category increased one percent. Compared to October 2019, sales in the category grew by more than 47 percent. Vape products, the largest segment in the Concentrates category, generated $14.7 million in October, contributing over 54 percent of Concentrates sales and nearly 15 percent of total monthly revenue.
In October 2020, Ingestibles generated $13.3 million in sales, staying about the same from the previous month. Compared to October 2019, sales of Ingestibles grew by nearly 17 percent. Edibles, which made up 83 percent of the Ingestibles category and more than 11 percent of overall monthly sales, generated $11 million in October 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.
