Some cannabis industry experts say the marijuana industry is all doom and gloom. President Biden refusing to allow any legalization to move forward despite promises coupled with California, New York and other states bungling taxes that make black market products way more attractive has delivered a blow to the legal market. Add a glut of cheap product and some poorly run companies and the industry has lost some of its encomia luster. But when you peel back layers of ineptitude, you see a VERY strong consumer demand that grows each year. The traditional “high holy day” of cannabis sales has been 4/20. April 20 has become an international counterculture holiday based on the celebration and consumption of cannabis and consumers came out in force this year!
Headset’s saw on 4/20 more than $100 million transactions – and at one point sales hit $160k per minute. They have a cool video mapping sales for the day across the U.S.
RELATED: Unlicensed Shops in NYC Are Doing Better Than The Naked Cowboy
From Maine to Nevada retailers were bustling with sales and shop owners showed a sigh of relief. Product companies also benefited from the uptick. Hopes remain high for other traditional high use days (July 4th, Memorial Day weekend) right around the corner.
Ivan-balvan/Getty Images
Green Market Report, the premier cannabis business site, shared Jane Technologies said that its data showed that 4/20 sales in 2023 increased by 9.7% over 2022, coming in at an estimated $26 million.
The top five selling product categories in 2023, according to Jane Technologies, were:
- Flower: $10,346,361
- Vape: $6,623,246
- Edible: $3,128,225
- Extract: $2,028,396
- Preroll: $1,873,570
Keep in mind, this is only the legal tracked sales and doesn’t count all the black market transaction – including the hundreds of unlinscend shops in New York City.
RELATED: Alcohol Industry Takes Big Gulps Of Marijuana Businesses
If any presidential administration can move forward on legalization and a basic tax structure, you would have another boom for the economy in right sized tax income, jobs and healthy small businesses. It would also start closing the door on the black market and some of the more “shady” players. But meanwhile, the winner every day is the customer.
