Following three months of softening sales trends, most of the markets that cannabis data analytics firm BDSA covers experienced continued weakness during September. Tough comparisons from a year ago, when sales surged during the pandemic, resulted in relatively weak annual growth in most markets, with several even declining. Sequentially, September had one less day than August. Weak sales of flower compared to a year ago remained an underlying theme. In this review, we will look at the markets one-by-one, beginning with the more mature Western markets and then concluding with the newer Eastern markets.
Western Markets
BDSA provides coverage for Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. In September, growth ranged from -12% in Nevada to 28% in Arizona compared to a year ago.
Arizona
Arizona transitioned to adult-use in late January, but this is the sixth month that BDSA has included adult-use sales. Total cannabis sales grew 28% to $108.6 million, with adult-use representing $52.7 million. Medical cannabis sales fell 34% from a year ago to $55.9 million. Sequentially, overall growth decreased 5.5%, with medical dropping 7% and adult-use falling 4%. Growth was strong across all categories, but the highest growth by far was in pre-rolls, which gained 149%.
California
Sales fell 11.4% to $293.1 million, down 7.7% from August. Flower fell 23%, while concentrates, the second largest category, declined 8%. Pre-rolls expanded by 12%, and ingestibles grew by 2%.
Colorado
The annual decline improved from 13.4% in August to 8.5% in September as sales fell 0.3% sequentially to $190.4 million. Flower dropped 23% compared to a year ago, while ingestibles and concentrates both expanded by more than 3%. Pre-rolls gained 10%.
Nevada
Sales fell 11.6% to $73.08 million, down 8.4% from August. Flower fell 25%, while other categories, except pre-rolls (down 3.5%), showed gains. The strongest category was ingestibles, up 17.5% from a year ago.
Oregon
Sales in this mature market dropped 5.2% compared to a year ago and 4.8% from August to $94.6 million. Flower fell 16%, while concentrates rose 2%. Pre-rolls and ingestibles both gained more than 5%.
Eastern Markets
In the newer markets, the annual rate of growth slowed in all three markets for which BDSA provides data. Note that BDSA has begun providing data for Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania as of January. Florida sales increased 5.8% sequentially to $159.4 million, while Pennsylvania fell 3% from August to $102.1 million. Michigan, which we previously detailed, saw overall sales fall 3% from August to $161.4 million, up 53% from a year ago. BDSA, which includes accessories, reported a lower level of sales for September at $151.7 million.
Illinois
Illinois combined adult-use and medical sales fell 2.5% in September, including accessories, to $142.6 million, up 43.9% compared to a year ago. Flower grew 34%, while other categories grew 38-64%. Adult-use sales, according to data from the state, increased 80% in September to $122 million.
Maryland
Annual growth improved slowed from 10% to 6.7% as sales fell nearly 4% from August at $42.9 million. In September, flower grew 7%, while concentrates grew 7% as well.
Massachusetts
The 40% growth in September was down from 55% in August as sales contracted 6% sequentially to $143.1 million. Flower grew 13%, while other categories grew 49% to 103%.
For readers interested in a deeper look at cannabis markets across these eight states and more, including segmentation by additional product categories, brand and item detail, longer history, and segmentation by product attributes, learn how BDSA Solutions can provide you with unlimited access to the most accurate and actionable data and analysis.
