Licensed cannabis retailers in Canada set a new monthly sales record in June of CA$517.8 million, or about $374.5 million USD. This exceeds the $372.4 million USD generated by California during the same month, which means that Canada — at least for the month of June — became the world’s largest cannabis market, according to SF Gate.

As the world’s second-largest country by land mass, Canada is far bigger than California, but the territories have similarly sized populations. But while California’s cannabis industry has struggled with high taxes, strict regulations, local bans, and competition with a rampant illicit market, the Canadian market has continued growing with new businesses and overseas export opportunities.

California currently has 3.7 cannabis dispensaries or delivery services per 100,000 people, according to the report, while Canada has 7.9 cannabis stores per 100,000 people.

Los Angeles-based cannabis consultant Hirsh Jain told SF Gate that California had all of the advantages it needed to become a global leader in cannabis reforms, “Yet poor policymaking has turned what should have been the world’s premier legal cannabis market into a cautionary tale.”

Previously, Michigan outpaced California in total legal cannabis sales in 2024, although the California market still generated more revenue that year.

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New York has expanded access to Cannabis Showcase Events, giving licensed microbusinesses more ways to participate in temporary markets and reach consumers beyond traditional dispensaries. The change creates new opportunities for small operators, although events remain tightly regulated and growers still face the broader challenges of cost, competition, and compliance.

Buying vegetables, artisanal cheese, and weed at the same market isn’t exactly what most people picture when they think of New York’s regulated cannabis industry. But the state has just taken another step in that direction.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law on August 6th that expands opportunities for small weed producers to participate in so-called Cannabis Showcase Events, temporary events that can be held at farmers’ markets, public markets, and other designated spaces. The goal is quite specific: to open new sales channels for small operators that don’t always have the budget, distribution network, or reach of larger companies.

“This new law gives licensed microbusinesses and dispensaries a real chance to succeed in New York’s legal cannabis market,” Hochul said when announcing the measure. According to the governor, enabling these spaces levels the playing field for small entrepreneurs and, at the same time, expands access to regulated products.

What Changes for Small Cannabis Producers in New York?

The issue may seem technical, but it has practical consequences. Microbusinesses occupy a unique place within the New York model because they can integrate different parts of the cannabis supply chain on a small scale. The problem was that their participation in Showcase Events was restricted: they could sell their own products, but not fully exercise all the activities covered by their licenses.

The new legislation, S.10113/A.11217, removes this limitation and allows these businesses to participate in Cannabis Showcase Events as cultivators, processors, and retailers, according to the authorizations included in their licenses.

And why does this matter? Because producing cannabis and finding a place to sell it are two very different problems.

Senator Michelle Hinchey, one of the bill’s sponsors, put it this way: many microbusinesses are small farms without large marketing budgets or easy access to retail. A growers’ showcase offers them something much more basic, but also valuable: putting their products directly in front of consumers.

In addition to selling, these events can serve to introduce a brand, explain how its products are produced, build brand awareness, and develop relationships with buyers who might otherwise never meet the producer through a traditional dispensary.

It’s Not Exactly an ‘Anything-Goes’ Cannabis Fair

However, talking about cannabis showcase events can make them sound much more informal than they actually are.

Cannabis Showcase Events are subject to an extensive set of requirements imposed by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Participation is subject to several requirements, including written approval from the municipality, a prior application to the OCM, age verification to prevent entry by—or sales to—anyone under 21, and security plans and incident reports. Required minimum distances from schools, places of worship, and certain youth facilities must also be maintained.

Furthermore, on-site cannabis use and the distribution of free samples or promotional products are prohibited. Another important distinction is that, under Showcase Event rules, sales are conducted by the licensed retailer holding the event permit. Growers and processors may display their products, but cannot sell them directly to the public or distribute samples.

Events can last up to 14 consecutive days, and a single location cannot host them for more than 45 days per calendar year. If an event is held within a farmers’ market or public market, written authorization from the relevant authorities is also required.

In other words, New York is bringing cannabis closer to the farmers-market model, but without removing it from the regulatory framework governing the rest of the industry.

A Growing, Increasingly Competitive Market

This measure comes as New York’s legal cannabis market has already reached considerable scale. In March, on the fifth anniversary of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, the government reported that cumulative legal sales had reached $3.3 billion.

By then, the state had 610 licensed retail dispensaries and 2,161 adult-use cannabis licenses issued throughout the supply chain. Of those, 56% had been granted to applicants enrolled in the state’s Social and Economic Equity Program.

But granting a license is only part of the equation. Then comes the harder part: making the business work. For a small farm, participating in a farmers’ market doesn’t solve the cost pressures, competition, or other challenges of operating within a highly regulated industry. But it does create another platform to sell products, build recognition, and connect directly with consumers who may eventually choose them.

In a market that already moves billions of dollars, securing a place to showcase what you produce is another way to compete.

Cover photo created with AI.

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Marijuana sales are increasing as purchases of alcohol are declining, according to a new federal report from the Canadian government.

Retailers in the country sold C$5.5 billion worth of legal recreational cannabis products in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, Statistics Canada reported, representing a 6.1 percent increase from the previous annual period.

Meanwhile, alcohol purchases were down 1.6 percent year over year, a dip that occurred despite a 1.6 increase in retail alcohol prices. The resulting decline in government revenue “was the largest annual decrease since Statistics Canada began tracking this series in 2004/2005,” the federal agency said.

While the C$25.8 billion worth of alcoholic beverages sold in the fiscal year still outpaces marijuana’s total, the two data points represent a trend where consumers are switching away from beer, wine and liquor toward cannabis, which is increasingly viewed as a safer alternative.

Even as marijuana sales in Canada increased in the last fiscal year, growth slowed, however, from the 11.6 percent increase in 2023-2024 and the 15.8 percent bump from 2022-2023. Still, the overall rise in cannabis purchase totals came even as prices dropped 1.1 percent over the last year.

Within the cannabis sector, inhaled extracts were the fastest growing product category in the most recent year, the government report, which was noted earlier by ICBC, said.

“The market share of inhaled extracts continued to increase in 2024/2025, up to almost one-third of total sales (31.1%),” it said. “Solid cannabis edibles (-2.2%) was the lone cannabis category with a sales decline in 2024/2025.”

Overall, cannabis sales during the fiscal year were equivalent to C$167 per person of legal age to consume marijuana.

A separate recent study funded by the Canadian government found that alcohol and tobacco cause far more harms to people who consume them, and to society overall, than marijuana does.

The findings about relative harms of different substances may help explain why alcohol consumption has been gradually declining over recent years, and why multiple surveys and studies have indicated that more adults are opting for marijuana.

For example, recent polling shows that younger Americans are increasingly using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol—with one in three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for after-work activities like happy hours.

Another survey released last October found that a majority of Americans believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol. And most also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five years.

Smoking marijuana is also associated with “significantly” reduced rates of alcohol consumption, according to a recent federally funded study that involved adults smoking joints in a makeshift bar.

A study published in 2024 that looked at adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages found more evidence of a “substitution effect,” with a significant majority of participants reporting reduced alcohol use after incorporating cannabinoid drinks into their routines.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration considers moving marijuana out of Schedule I, the most restrictive category under U.S. federal law, another recent study concluded that cannabis isn’t as dangerous as its current classification would suggest.

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Cannabis reform’s sworn enemy is claiming credit for the quests to end adult-use marijuana sales in Maine and Massachusetts, where in the latter state signature-gatherers are allegedly resorting to deceptive tactics.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a Washington, D.C., area-based anti-legalization organization, is contributing “multimillion-dollar support” to voter initiative campaigns that, if successful, would end a combined $1.8 billion in annual cannabis sales, its founder and president claimed last week.

State-level adult-use cannabis legalization campaigns have had mixed success in past years, with voters rejecting adult-use pushes in Oklahoma in 2023 and Florida last year.

But never have state voters or lawmakers had second thoughts and rolled back adult-use or medical marijuana legalization.

That would change if voter-initiative campaigns in Massachusetts, where signature-gathering is underway, and in Maine, where the state attorney general cleared petitions to begin, are successful.

If passed, cannabis would remain legal for adults but medical cannabis would be the only legal sales channel.

Annual cannabis sales exceed $1.6 billion in Massachusetts and are approaching $300 million in Maine, according to state data.

Who’s behind campaigns to end adult-use marijuana sales in Massachusetts and Maine?

Republican Party-affiliated political operatives with the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts have declined to say who’s paying for the pricey signature-gathering campaign – and with campaign finance filings still not due, that information is not publicly available.

Wendy Wakeman, a spokeswoman for the campaign, again declined to identify supporters during a brief telephone interview on Tuesday.

But on Thursday, a few hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, when fulfilled, will downgrade cannabis’ status under federal law, SAM co-founder and President Kevin Sabet claimed to be behind the campaigns.

“Now, today, for the first time, I can also announce our multi-million-dollar support for two grassroots campaigns to end marijuana sales and commercialization in Maine and Massachusetts,” Sabet said in a video posted to X.

“We still have the power to take back our public health.”

SAM did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Dark money, allegedly deceptive tactics behind anti-legalization effort

With campaign finance forms not yet filed, it’s still not known exactly how much cash SAM is devoting to the causes.

SAM’s backers have long been a contentious subject of speculation in the cannabis advocacy world.

SAM Action, a 501(c)4 affiliate of the organization, recently claimed to have spent in excess of $100,000 on television ads urging Trump not to reschedule cannabis.

Critics point out that Internal Revenue Service reporting rules allow 501(c)4 organizations to hide their donors.

In Massachusetts, campaign workers stand accused of attempting to deceive voters into signing the petitions.

However, such tactics are First Amendment-protected activity, courts have found.

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