Marijuana Sales 2016 Surge For Christmas In States Where Weed Is Legal

Cannabis was apparently the real winner this Christmas after retail shops in states where the drug is legal saw sales increase by 21-percent leading up to the holiday on Sunday. Baker, a marijuana-software firm that runs customer-service systems in dispensaries, said pot sales were up significantly in states with legal medical and recreational marijuana use including California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Arizona the week before Christmas, USA Today reported Friday.

Marijuana-infused edibles such as cookies, brownies, chocolates and candy were the number one selling product, but sales for smoking accessories like vaporizers and pipes didn’t trail too far behind. Baker CEO Joe Milton told USA Today cannabis gifts over the holidays were just one of the many ways marijuana is becoming mainstream.

"Holiday gift-giving is a perfect example of this once-taboo product making its way into the mainstream retail environment,” Milton said. “We have a feeling people will like cannabis gifts a lot more than a traditional … box of chocolates."

Dispensaries and online marijuana shops typically start running holiday sales around Thanksgiving. Newly established Weed Wednesday promotions start on the day before Thanksgiving while marijuana shoppers can indulge in discounts on cannabis products through Green Friday opposed to the traditional Black Friday holiday sales.

With five states legalizing recreational marijuana and three others inducting medical marijuana laws recently, holiday sales have been projected to be even higher when Christmas rolls around in 2017.

As far as sales go, the marijuana industry is already proving to be one of the most rewarding. In Colorado, the billion dollar industry has exceeded 2015's $966 million in total revenue, grossing roughly $1 billion in just the first 10 months of 2016, according to Colorado’s Department of Revenue. Overall in the U.S., the marijuana industry is expected to gross about $7.9 billion in revenue in 2016. By 2020 the market is slated to earn roughly $21 billion.