As cannabis legalization expands, pre-rolls have become a significant market leader, capturing nearly 16% of all cannabis product sales. In the first half of 2024, pre-rolls achieved $1.45 billion in sales, a 21% increase from 2023. This article reviews the top states and emerging markets for the sector.
As cannabis legalization spreads across the United States, the simple pre-roll has become a potent symbol of the industry’s potential, and a leader in terms of sales, rising to a market share of nearly 16% of all cannabis products tracked by U.S. cannabis analytics firm Headset.
The ready-to-smoke nature and portability of the pre-roll has made it a favorite in every state where they can be legally sold, racking up a massive $1.45 billion in sales in the first six months of 2024 across the 12 tracked U.S. markets. That’s an increase of nearly 21% year-over-year from the same period in 2023.
Sales in the pre-roll sector are led by infused products, which include a cannabis concentrate along with the flower. These products not only have increased flavor, but a higher potency, the main aspect consumers look for in a cannabis product.
They also often command a higher price point, helping drive overall revenue and profitability. For example, infused pre-rolls account for $639.2 million in sales through the first six months of 2024, or about 44% of all pre-rolls sold. In June 2024 alone, consumers bought approximately $114.6 million worth of infused pre-rolls.
However, each market is unique, and using Headset data, we’ve identified the top-performing states for pre-rolls.
Top 5 Pre-Roll Markets of 2024
1. California
California, with its massive population and giant economy, remains the top market for pre-rolls, with an impressive $358.6 million in sales over the first half of 2024, led by sales in the infused category. While still the highest sales total in the country, there was a drop from the same time in 2023, which saw sales of $367.5 million.
However, while revenue dropped, total units sold continued to increase, raising the market share for the sector to 17.7%, up from 15.5% last year. 25.68 million pre-roll units were sold in the first six months of 2024. That’s a year-over-year increase of more than 11.2%, potentially tied to an average drop in price from $8.54 to $7.33 from June 2023 to June 2024.
2. Michigan
Michigan might be the hottest pre-roll market in the country. It had the lowest average price of all markets tracked ($5.92 on average in June), leading to nearly twice as many pre-roll unit sales as California for the first half of 2024. Consumers in Michigan bought about 47.5 million pre-roll products this year, up from 25 million in the first half of 2023. That’s a year-over-year increase of nearly 90%.
That adds up to more than $242 million in sales for the first six months of 2024, up from $207.8 million last year. In total, the market share for pre-roll products has increased in Michigan from 13.1% in June 2023 to 19.2% in June 2024.
Like California, infused items were the top performing segment.
3. Massachusetts
Massachusetts retailers sold $128.2 million in pre-rolls over the first half of 2024. That’s down from $136.2 million the same time period in 2023, but that is a reflection of the price point, which in June dropped to an average of $9.66, down from $12.50 in June 2023. The pre-roll market share actually increased from 17.4% last year to 20.4% in 2024.
Total unit sales in Massachusetts are up significantly. Bay State consumers purchased 15.2 million pre-roll products so far this year, a nearly 41% increase over the first half of 2023. Massachusetts breaks with form, however, as single strain hybrid pre-rolls are the top selling segment.
4. Illinois
The pre-roll market in Illinois also saw growth this year in both units and sales revenue, increasing the market share to 11.2%, up from 8.7% last year. Illinois retailers sold more than $104.1 million in pre-rolls in the first six months of 2024. Sales are up 16.3% from the $89.5 million sold in the first half of 2023, even as the average price of a pre-roll product dropped to $18.75 in June from $20.88 the previous year.
Illinois also saw an increase in unit sales over the first six months of this year, selling 5.4 million pre-roll products, up from 4.3 million last year, led by the single strain hybrid segment.
5. Arizona
Arizona’s pre-roll market also saw an increase in unit sales and market share, but a drop in overall revenue as pre-roll prices fell to an average of $10.14 in June 2024, down from $13.58 in June 2023. Arizona retailers sold more than 8.8 million pre-roll products from January to June 2024, up nearly 19% year-over-year from 2023, with infused products as the top segment.
Because of the price drop, the total sales figure of $97.2 million is down nearly 5% from the $102.3 million sold in 2023, despite a market share increase to 16.7% from 13.9% last year.
New Markets Take Off
While the top markets are fairly established, the cannabis industry adds new markets every year. Two markets that opened in 2023 are showing fast growth, both led by the single strain hybrid segment.
Maryland
June 2024 marked the best sales month for pre-rolls in the short history of Maryland’s adult use market, which opened in July 2023. Nearly 730,000 units were sold in June, totaling more than $11 million in revenue. That’s a growth of 34.4% in total unit sales and 33.6% in revenue since January of this year.
In total, more than $57.2 million worth of pre-rolls have been sold in Maryland this year, a nearly 12% market share.
Missouri
Adult use cannabis sales in Missouri began in February 2023 and the pre-roll category reached record highs on sales and revenue in June 2024: 948,396 units for a total of over $13.8 million. That’s a 37.8% increase in units and a 32.8% increase in revenue over January 2024 sales. During the same period, pre-roll market share increased from 9.5% to 11.4% in Missouri.
Markets Are Moving Rapidly
The U.S. pre-roll cannabis market is evolving quickly, with emerging markets showing impressive growth while established markets continue to lead. Understanding these trends will be crucial for businesses looking to navigate this competitive landscape.
About the Author
Harrison Bard is the co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers. From custom-branded and wholesale pre-rolled cones to completely customized packaging projects and pre-roll machines, Custom Cones USA helps companies bring their pre-roll projects to life.
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