Historically Slow Month Nets 14.8% YoY Rise In Cannabis Retail Sales

Renato Capelj
·2 min read

Legalized marijuana sales in the five-largest markets reached a combined $574.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 15%.

That’s according to the December Cannabis Retail Price Index (CPI), the latest report from cannabinoid market research firm BDS Analytics.

December’s Cannabis CPI came in at 101.38, a 1.3% decline from the previous month. The index continued to show a positive price trend in pre-rolled joints, while flower, vape, ingestible and dabbable concentrates experienced negative price pressures.

The CPI is designed to illustrate demand shifts, pricing adjustments and other trends in the cannabis industry for consumers, producers, and investors. Through its GreenEdge Platform, BDS compiles transaction pricing data for dispensaries in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon, which make up approximately 50% of the United States’ legalized cannabis product sales.

Rising Tide

In what is traditionally a slower month, January sales were significantly higher than in the prior year as recreational legislation improved and the number of marijuana business licenses rose.

In fact, on the heels of legalization, nearly $40 million was spent on recreational pot in Illinois, leading to a short-term supply crunch. Stocks such as Green Thumb Industries Inc. (OTC: GTBIF) and Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (OTC: TCNNF) were buoyed by this news in January prior to slipping lower in February and collapsing with market crash attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

At the recent Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami, Florida, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton spoke on her ongoing efforts to enact new cannabis standards across the country.

“It’s about restorative justice [and] repairing harm done to communities devastated by the failed war on drugs,” she said in a discussion on expunging low-level offenses and improving social equity.

Illinois, among other midwestern states, spearheaded legalizing recreational sales, bringing revenue and business opportunities back into communities previously disenfranchised by unfavorable marijuana legislation.

Photo by Yash Lucid from Pexels. 

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