Legal cannabis markets in the US are clearly in a transition phase, as the hockey stick growth that the industry saw since the launch of the first legal markets has begun to level off in 2022, with some of the biggest markets even seeing declines in legal sales for the first two quarters of the year. With that said, the big picture of where legal cannabis is going remains positive, as the newest markets continue to expand legal access, and mature markets still indicate potential for further growth in legal sales.
One indicator that there is still huge room for growth in legal cannabis is the massive expansion of consumer participation that we have seen across all legal markets. Per BDSA’s Spring 2022 Consumer Insights data, adult-use legal states now have more than 50% of adults claiming past six-month cannabis consumption, an increase of ~7% since Fall 2021.