MJBizMag February 2022 - 12

FIVE QUESTIONS with Cooper Ashley
Cannabis Sales Boom Coincided
With Arrival of Delta-8 THC
Higher prices and edibles focus are hallmarks of D-8 THC products,
cannabis data analyst says
By Kate Lavin
P
lant-touching companies
weren't the only businesses
surprised by the sudden
and explosive growth of delta-8
THC in 2020. Sales of the novel
cannabinoid surprised trade
associations and ancillary
companies as well.
Seattle-based cannabis analytics
firm Headset compiled delta-8 sales
numbers for MJBizMagazine.
Cooper Ashley, senior data analyst
at Headset, cautioned that the
figures include only products with
delta-8 in their names, as entered
by staffers at stores tracked by
Headset, so the data might not
paint a complete picture.
Still, the numbers give us a
good idea of the rapid increase in
delta-8 popularity as well as how
sales responded to the actions
taken by regulators in markets
where the data was collected:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington state. (See
page 38 for the current legal status
of delta-8 THC in various
U.S. markets.)
Keep reading to learn about the
D-8 phenomenon's effect on retail
cannabis sales.
The explosion of D-8 sales in
the third and fourth quarters
of 2020 coincided with a dip in
the total cannabis market. Do
you think the two are related?
You have to remember that
growth in the second and third
CATEGORY
Edibles
Vapor Pens
Other
% OF 2021
DELTA 8 SALES
70%
19%
11%
quarters of 2020-after the initial
(COVID-19) lockdown and through
the summer-was some of the
biggest growth we've seen in the
cannabis market in a very long time,
including in more established markets
like Washington and Colorado.
Q4 2020 was a return to normal
after unexpected growth in spring
and summer sales.
That's also the time when people
started to hear about (delta-8 THC)
as an option, especially in the world
of CBD and gray-market cannabis.
That's when it exploded in name
recognition and popularity.
We can see that delta-8 sales
exploded in late 2020 and continued
to grow through Q2 of 2021.
Growth of D-8 Sales Versus Total MJ Market
100%
20%
40%
60%
80%
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
Q2 2020
Q3 2020
Q4 2020
Q1 2021
Q2 2021
Q3 2021
Have you ever seen a
cannabinoid rocket to
popularity like this?
The only thing I can think of is
CBD itself. It is reminiscent, but
I definitely don't think it's as
widespread or common as CBD was
when it was gaining popularity.
Still, that quick rate of growth
and adoption was similar to when
CBD really took the country by
storm a few years back.
QoQ Growth of D-8 Sales
Source: Headset
QoQ Growth of Total Market
The edibles category for
delta-8 products is robust. Is
that the case for other labmade
cannabinoids?
Tinctures, capsules, edibles and
topical categories seem to cater a
12 February 2022 | MJBizMagazine

MJBizMag February 2022

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