The cannabis industry will come out of the coronavirus pandemic stronger than when the pandemic started. That will include new opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs in states that have already legalized and those that might soon follow suit.

Those are some of the findings in a recent report called State of the Cannabis Industry conducted by LeafLink, Flowhub, and Vangst. Each company approaches the cannabis industry from a different vantage point - wholesale (LeafLink), dispensaries (Flowhub) and employment (Vangst). 

No matter how you look at the industry, it’s been a great year for cannabis. After an initial explosion in cannabis sales when the pandemic began, record sales have continued in some states. The report found that cannabis sales nationwide have stabilized at a rate 40 percent higher than in 2019.

That stabilization indicates that post-pandemic sales numbers should stay strong. Officials in Michigan, for example, expect the market in their state to surpass $3 billion in the near future. Nationwide, some projections call for a $34 billion U.S. cannabis market by 2025.

Medical marijuana also is growing. The number of people in the United States who have enrolled in the medical marijuana program in their home state surpassed 3 million for the first time in August 2020.

Voters in Arizona and New Jersey will also consider making recreational marijuana legal in their states on Nov. 3, potentially adding high-population new markets to the industry.

Those who prepared fared best

The report cited data showing that dispensaries with “order ahead” capabilities were better prepared to deal with the sudden spike in sales once the pandemic began. Those dispensaries saw increases in sales that were 22 percent higher than dispensaries that could not order ahead. They also saw 8 percent more transactions and a 13 percent increase in order amounts.

Writing about the report for Green Entrepreneur, LeafLink’s Alex Feldman noted that both emerging and mature markets have contributed to the growth. For example, the report found both California and Colorado are outpacing 2019 in sales. At the same time, emerging markets in Michigan and Oklahoma have been among the hottest in the nation.