9-04-2023 6:23pm

Cannabis Sales Exceed Chocolate Sales in 2023

Chris Edwards Editor

Cannabis sales legal in half the US now exceed total US Chocolate Sales. In 2022, Americans spent an estimated $30 billion on legal marijuana products – more than they spent on opioid medications ($22.8 billion) and topical pain relief ($2.8 billion) combined, according MJBizDaily.

Cannabis sales are on an upward trajectory that is very similar to the trend on chocolate sales. Cannabis is sold in about half of US state’s legally.

Chocolate and candy sales rose 11% over 2020 and 15.4% over 2019, the National Confectioners Association (NCA) disclosed this week in its State of Treating report.

Total confectionery sales reached $36.9 billion last year and are projected to grow to $44.9 billion by 2026, the trade group said.

Chocolate: $21.1 billion
Non-chocolate: $12.7 billion
Gum & mints: $3.1 billion
Confectionery: $36.9 billion

Cannabis sales at $30 Billion exceeded US Chocolate Sales of which Hersheys has a 33% market share. Cannabis sales is a little more than half of the $52.7 billion that US consumers spent on tobacco products, but cigarette sales are declining while weed sales are ramping up.

If trends continue, MJBizDaily projects cannabis sales could reach as high as $33.6 billion this year similar to total confectionery sales, and projected to climb to nearly $57 billion by 2028.

Minnesota on June 1st, 2023 legalized marijuana for recreational use after its governor, Tim Walz, signed a law allowing the state's residents over the age of 21 to legally possess cannabis for consumption.

Apart from the 23 states, adult-use cannabis is also legal in the District of Columbia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Medical cannabis currently represents roughly one-third of total sales, the report finds that level is expected to shrink as consumers turn to more readily accessible recreational options.

Of course, legal sales are still vastly outweighed by illicit ones – Whitney Economics estimated that legal transactions constituted just 25% of the total cannabis market in the US in 2021.

Vape pens and pre-rolls are starting to chip away at the market dominance of the bud – flower in industry parlance – and a proliferation of formats like beverages, resins, and tinctures is also driving a substantial proportion of sales.

Gummies are the most widely consumed edible, generating roughly $100 million in monthly sales. In March 2023 alone, retailers sold nearly $20 million of berry gummies, according to research firm Headset, which looked at sales from Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State.

Total Cannabis Sales in New Mexico are trending strong to well over $500 Million annually with over 2,000 Cannabis licenses issued to individuals and businesses in its first full year of sales.