California’s legal cannabis market has struggled in recent years, with overall sales declining in the state. However, some local markets in the Golden State are experiencing better recreational cannabis sales than others.
A great example can be found in Costa Mesa, where adult-use cannabis sales have spiked 452.79% year-over-year compared to Q1 2023. Costa Mesa, a city in Orange County, California, has a population of roughly 110k people.
“Taxable marijuana sales in Costa Mesa reached $9.7 million in the first quarter of 2024, up more than 450% from $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2023, according to data released by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.” MJBizDaily reported.
“As of May 2024, the state reported total cannabis sales amounting to $356.47 million, with an average item price of $20.29.” states cannabis industry data company Headset regarding California’s overall cannabis market.
The United States adult-use cannabis industry has generated over $20 billion in total tax revenue since the first legal recreational cannabis purchase was made in Colorado on January 1st, 2014 according to a recent report by the Marijuana Policy Project.
“Through the first quarter of 2024, states have reported a combined total of more than $20 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales. In 2023 alone, legalization states generated more than $4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales, which is the most revenue generated by cannabis sales in a single year.” the Marijuana Policy Project stated in a press release.
Total legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach $31.4 billion in 2024 according to a recent analysis by Whitney Economics. Additionally, leading cannabis jobs platform Vangst, in conjunction with Whitney Economics, estimates that the legal cannabis industry now supports 440,445 full time-equivalent cannabis jobs in the United States.
Whitney Economics also projects the following legal cannabis sales figures in the United States for the coming years:
- 2024: $31.4 billion (9.1% growth from 2023)
- 2025: $35.2 billion (12.1% growth from 2024)
- 2030: $67.2 billion
- 2035: $87.0 billion
The emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States is projected to add roughly $112 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024 according to a newly released analysis by MJBiz Daily. The projection is part of the company’s 2024 MJBiz Factbook.
“The total U.S. economic impact generated by regulated marijuana sales could top $112.4 billion in 2024, about 12% more than last year,” MJBiz stated in its initial reporting.