Currently, 24 states in the U.S. plus the District of Columbia have passed adult-use cannabis legalization measures. Several more have approved medical cannabis legalization measures, and many of those adult-use and/or medical use states permit consumers and patients to make legal purchases from licensed retailers.
Of the markets that allow legal recreational cannabis sales to adults, Oregon ranked first in a recent analysis by Lance Surety Bonds based on the level of affordability of legal cannabis. The analysis found that Oregon’s average price for a pre-rolled joint ($4.91) and average price for an ounce of flower ($211) were the lowest in the nation out of the legal commerce states.
Coming in second was Oregon’s neighbor to the north, Washington State, which had an average price of $5.42 for one joint and $233 for an ounce of flower. Washington was one of the first states to legalize cannabis for adult use along with Colorado, which had an average price for one joint of $5.63 and $242 for an ounce of flower according to the Lance Surety Bonds analysis.
“Our 2024 cannabis industry analysis utilized data from two primary sources. First, we examined the revenue potential for cannabis businesses using figures from taxfoundation.org, calculating it as a percentage of each state’s total revenue potential for comparison. Second, we assessed the cost of cannabis in various states through information from nuggmd.com.” the researchers stated about their methodology.
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 Pew Research Center has determined that:
- 79% of Americans live in a county with at least one cannabis dispensary.
- There are nearly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the United States.
- California alone has 3,659 cannabis dispensaries
- Oklahoma has the most cannabis dispensaries per capita in the U.S. (36 dispensaries for every 100,000 Oklahoma residents)