In addition to equal access health benefits and less people forced into the criminal justice system, one of the many pros of legal marijuana is the newfound ability to track sales data and consumer trends in cannabis consumption. Instead of asking local weed dealers what their favorite strain or best selling product is, we can tap state-run agencies and see exactly what’s selling and what’s not.
In Washington State, the Liquor and Cannabis Board release all of the state’s sales totals to the public, and a deep dive from Leafly has uncovered some interesting consumption habits in Evergreen State stoners.
Flowers aside, Leafly took a look at the rapidly increasing popularity of cannabis concentrates, an umbrella name for products that include vaporizer cartridges and anything dabbable such as wax, budder, and shatter. In Washington, sales of concentrates jumped from $52 million in 2015 to almost $150 million in 2016.
Comparatively, Washington’s edible sales have also bumped up, but at not nearly the same rate. In 2016 edible sales settled at $45 million, or only one third of concentrate dollars.
So while edibles often get the most news coverage because of their likeness to traditional consumer products or wacky packaging, it’s a love for concentrates that’s really getting Washingtonians out of the house and into pot shops – take note, ganjapreneurs.
