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

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

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. GTBIF and Trulieve Cannabis Corp. 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. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.