Cannabis joints are far from being a new thing, however, in recent decades legal markets in the United States have witnessed a significant rise in popularity for ‘pre-rolled’ joints. Pre-rolls are exactly what they sound like – joints that are pre-rolled for consumers to purchase.
Pre-rolls are very convenient, and are usually sold in either single units or packs of pre-rolls (typically 3-10 joints per pack). They save the consumer or patient the time of having to roll their own cannabis joints, and range in prices depending on the market in which they are purchased.
The pre-roll segment’s growth has been nothing short of remarkable. From June 2023 to June 2024, pre-rolls generated over $1.3 billion in sales, capturing a 14.6% market share across tracked markets.” stated Green Market Report in a recent analysis. “With 131.7 million units sold in this period, it’s clear that consumers have embraced this convenient, ready-to-consume format.”
“Since 2019, the pre-roll market has experienced a staggering sixfold increase in revenue. Total pre-roll sales soared from $469 million in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2023, showcasing the category’s explosive growth in just four years.” Green Market Report also stated.
The Pew Research Center has determined that among all self-reported THC users, 32% of them prefer pre-rolls. Below is an example of a popular cannabis pre-roll brand, Sluggers, which is one of the most popular cannabis pre-roll brands in California:
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 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.
79% of people living in the United States lived in a county with at least one regulated cannabis dispensary according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. The Pew Research Center also found the following:
- 74% of people in the U.S. live in a state where recreational or medical cannabis is legal
- There are nearly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the U.S.
- California has the most overall dispensaries (3,659)
- Oklahoma has the most dispensaries per capita (36 dispensaries for every 100,000 residents)
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 an 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.