The US Recreational Cannabis Consumer Market Report 2023

This report provides comprehensive and current information and analysis of the recreational cannabis market including recreational cannabis market size, anticipated market forecast, relevant market segmentation, and industry trends for the recreational cannabis market in the US.

Current market landscape

Cannabis remains relatively stable in terms of usage rates, reasons for use and even format. In fact, usage has only fluctuated 4 percentage points from 2019-22, despite hugely impactful external factors of pandemic lockdowns and elevated stress to the high inflation environment.

Even still, because cannabis is siloed state-by-state, each mini market will experience very different impacts of inflation. While prices like food and fuel are rising nationwide, this is not the case for cannabis across the board. Currently, some states are seeing cannabis prices rise while other are seeing them fall, due to a combination of supply chain headaches and how well (or poorly) growing seasons have gone.

Market share and key industry trends

• Cannabis use is holding steady with 32% of adults in legal use states reporting use in the last three months, the same share who reported use in 2020, and only up slightly since prepandemic numbers in 2019 (28%).
• Fewer consumers are using topicals, vaporizers, drinkables, drops and tinctures, indicating potential dissatisfaction with products and a corresponding emphasis on exploration.
• 64% of consumers in 2022 use cannabis for stress relief, down from 68% in 2020.

Expected recreational cannabis market trends

Even if faced with financial challenges, half of cannabis consumers would not change their spending on cannabis, and another 13% might even spend more. Thus, cannabis brands may actually have more opportunities than challenges during inflation, at least compared to products in cannabis’s competitive set, such as alcohol. Challenges, then, come from within the market, ie, competition with other brands. Highlighting value, including both price and quality components, is an obvious win that may yield loyalties that outlast inflation.

Read on to discover more about the recreational cannabis consumer market, read our Cannabis Accessories Market Report – US – 2022, or take a look at our other Cannabis research reports.

Quickly understand future recreational cannabis markets

• State of the cannabis market.
• How inflation is impacting the cannabis market and the opportunities and challenges it presents.
• Trended data regarding cannabis use, formats and use-cases from 2019-22.
• Interest in and experiences with cannabis.
• The role of dispensaries and brands in the recreational/legal adult use market.

Covered in this cannabis market research report

Brands include: Scott’s Miracle Grow, Constellation Brands, Molson Coors Brewing, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Canopy Growth, HEXO, Tilray, Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, Trulieve Cannabis, Verano Holdings, Canopy Growth, Cronos Group, Cresco Labs, Columbia Care, Sundial Growers, Beyond / Hello, The Green Solution, MedMen, Decibel, The Botanist, RISE (operated by Green Thumb Industries), Green Goods, Native Roots, Synchronicity Holistic, Serra, Maitri Meds, Compassionate Clinics of America, Leafly: Cannabis 101, Illinois Cannabis Training Center, highVIBE Cannabis Flow, Dispensary33, Mary’s Medicinals Transdermal Patch.

Expert analysis from a specialist in the recreational cannabis market

This report, written by Michele Scott, a leading analyst in the Cannabis sector, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.

The cannabis market has always been distinctive and complex. Usage remained steady in 2022 despite high inflation that is expected to continue in 2023, which further demonstrates its uniqueness, especially compared to other discretionary products. Users are unwilling to forgo cannabis, even as prices rise, presenting an opportunity for brands to highlight value. Competition will be fierce, leaving less room for error than ever before.

Michele Scott
Associate Director