Chart: Latest California Marijuana Market Data – $845M in Annual Sales, 2,756 Dispensaries
Californias medical cannabis industry reported $845 million in retail sales via nearly 2,800 dispensaries over a recent 12-month period, according to exclusive data obtained by
The figures offer a snapshot of the size and scope of Californias massive medical cannabis market, though actual sales are likely much higher because of the unregulated nature of the industry in the state. The numbers alsoprovide a hint of whats possible if California legalizes recreational marijuana this fall.
California doesnt currently have statewide regulations on its massive medical marijuana industry, so it hasnt officially tracked sales, tax collections from the industry or the number of dispensaries in the state. Its therefore been difficult to get a handle on the size of the market, and the marijuana industry at large has had to make estimates about the states market with little to go on.
According to HDLs data, California dispensaries reported $845 million in sales from April 2015 through March 2016, based on reported sales tax receipts. That dwarfs the second-largest medical cannabis industry, Colorado, which hauled in $408 million in MMJ sales at the dispensary level last year.
California also had 10% more dispensaries than all other MMJ states combined as of March. (Note: Washington State recently shut down its unregulated medical cannabis market as it transitions to its rec program, wiping out the hundreds of existing medical cannabis dispensaries).
To put this in perspective, Colorado currently has528licensed dispensaries, while most other states have anywhere from a handful to several hundred.
Although California officialsdont specifically track MMJ tax revenues or the number of operating dispensaries, HDL has access to approximately 98% of all sales tax receipts from every type of business in California through the State Board of Equalization database.
HDLs Marijuana Management Team has developed proprietaryalgorithms that analyze each of these receipts, looking for any sign that would indicate a potential MMJ dispensary.
Any hits registered by the algorithm are then validated through further research by an HDL associate.A simple calculation converts this sales tax data into gross receipts to identify the total revenue generated for each dispensary location.
The states Board of Equalization has released limited MMJ sales figures based on tax receipts in the past, but HDL spent time further scrubbing the data to provide a more accurate picture of the market. It then provided that info to
While $845 million in sales is a staggering figure, the true market is likely bigger than it appears.
In the absence of statewide rules, regulation of California MMJ businesses has historically been left to local towns and counties creating a volatile regulatory climate thats left many MMJ businesses operating in legal gray areas. Due to this legal uncertainty, many dispensaries operating in counties hostile towards MMJ businesses likely are under-reporting their sales to avoid detection by county officials, as high sales may raise red flags, according ...
