Maine's adult-use cannabis market captures 100% of resident demand plus a small export/tourist component despite higher retail prices, robust homegrow rights, and a rural, dispersed population. The state demonstrates that functional enforcement and reasonable tax policy outweigh retail pricing in determining legal market success—validating the core
The world's largest legal cannabis market remains stuck at 63% capture despite competitive excise rates and rock-bottom retail prices—proving tax reform can't overcome enforcement collapse Introduction: The $7 Billion Failure California operates the world's largest legal cannabis market—$28.09 billion in cumulative
The market that proves retail competition alone isn't enough—operators need scale and infrastructure flexibility to survive competitive pricing Introduction: The Limited Licensing Trap Massachusetts has achieved what Illinois couldn't: complete black market displacement. The state taxes adult-use cannabis at 17-20% total burden—far lower than
Michigan sells 2.5 times more cannabis per capita than any other legal market in North America. This isn't because Michigan residents consume more—it's because a massive portion of the state's $3.17 billion annual market is being exported to prohibition neighbors Ohio,
Introduction: When Policy Failure Costs $3.2 Billion Annually On January 1, 2020, Illinois became the 11th state to launch adult-use cannabis sales. Five years later, the data tells a story that should alarm policymakers and industry stakeholders alike: Illinois's 2025 cannabis market (through October): $1.36 billion
Introduction: Both Success and Cautionary Tale Colorado made history on January 1, 2014 as the first state to launch adult-use cannabis sales. Ten years later, the data tells a story that surprises both advocates and opponents: Colorado's 2024 cannabis market: $1.397 billion in total sales. Down from
Introduction: The Quiet Success Nobody Talks About While cannabis policy debates rage over monopoly structures, tax rates, and licensing restrictions, Oregon has been quietly doing something remarkable: actually displacing the black market. After a decade of legal sales, Oregon's recreational cannabis program captures approximately 100% of resident demand.
Introduction: The Closest Thing to Clean Data Florida has something most cannabis markets don't: reliable consumption data. When 930,000 patients pay $332 annually for medical program access and every transaction flows through mandatory state tracking, you're not counting ghost accounts or relying on survey self-reports.
Ten years into the great American cannabis experiment, we have a puzzle: Why do some legal markets completely crush the black market while others barely make a dent? Oregon and Colorado capture over 100% of their resident cannabis demand (plus tourism from neighboring prohibition states). Quebec, with cheaper prices and
How the SQDC repeats Uruguay's mistakes and why government monopolies fail at market displacement Quebec's Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) wants you to believe they're winning the war on illegal cannabis. Their latest annual report celebrates 21.8% sales growth and $118 million in
Uruguay made history in 2013 as the first country to fully legalize recreational cannabis. A decade later, you'd expect their state-run pharmacy system to dominate the market. Instead, only about 24% of users buy from legal sources—76% still hit up their traditional dealers. The surprising part? It&
Why Home Cultivation Costs More Than You Think—And Why Plant Count Limits Matter The Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong Walk into any home grow forum or read any cultivation guide, and you'll see the same confident claim: growing your own cannabis is dramatically cheaper than buying from dispensaries.