{"id":11126,"date":"2026-05-28T18:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabisindustryjournal.com\/?post_type=feature_article&amp;p=38870"},"modified":"2026-05-28T18:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:04:09","slug":"what-the-wholesale-numbers-tell-us-about-where-cannabis-markets-are-headed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/what-the-wholesale-numbers-tell-us-about-where-cannabis-markets-are-headed\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Wholesale Numbers Tell Us About Where Cannabis Markets Are\u00a0Headed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/what-the-wholesale-numbers-tell-us-about-where-cannabis-markets-are-headed\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/what-the-wholesale-numbers-tell-us-about-where-cannabis-markets-are-headed.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">LeafLink\u2019s<\/span> <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leaflink.com\/ll-resources\/wholesale-cannabis-pricing-guide-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wholesale Cannabis Pricing Guide,<\/span><\/a> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">drawing on over 400,000 SKUs and billions of dollars in transaction data across 18 U.S. markets throughout 2025, paints a picture of the wholesale cannabis pricing continuing its downward march as markets mature and supply expands \u2014 with each market and product category telling a slightly different story.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Big Picture<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wholesale markets continued to mature in 2025, with many categories experiencing ongoing price compression as supply increased and operators prioritized value. Edibles and ingestibles were a notable exception, with pricing remaining effectively flat<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">year-over-year<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Category by Category<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Cartridges experienced the steepest decline, with average prices falling approximately 12% year-over-year<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">landing at<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a national average of $13.86 per gram.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Pre-Rolls followed closely, dropping more than 10% to $4.66 per gram, while Concentrates fell 7.5% to $9.25 per gram, and Flower posted moderate decreases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Within cartridges, 510-thread cartridges \u2014 the largest segment by order volume \u2014 declined 12% to $12.52 per gram, while disposable cartridges fell 15% to $14.15 per gram. Together, 510-thread and disposable formats accounted for approximately 91% of total category orders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For concentrates, the picture was more nuanced. Value-oriented formats saw sharp price declines \u2014 Distillate fell 20%, Cured Resin dropped 21%, and Live Resin declined 17% \u2014 while premium solventless products held firm. Live Rosin prices actually increased 31%, reinforcing its position as a premium product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In the pre-roll segment, infused pre-rolls \u2014 the dominant segment by GMV at over $484 million \u2014 fell 16% year-over-year to $5.36 per gram, while non-infused pre-rolls remained relatively stable with only a 0.4% decline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Edibles and ingestibles bucked the trend. Gummies dominated the category with stable pricing at $0.06 per milligram<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, while<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">beverages rose 1.7% to an average of $0.14 per unit, and snacks saw the largest increase at 21%, though from a small base.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Beverages: A Format to Watch<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The report includes a dedicated spotlight on cannabis beverages, which continue to attract growing attention despite remaining a smaller overall segment. Average beverage pricing rose 1.7% to $0.14 per unit, with most transactions falling within a relatively narrow band of $0.06 to $0.25 per unit. Michigan led all markets in beverage GMV at nearly $7.7 million, followed by Colorado at $6.5 million and Arizona at $6.3 million. Pricing varied considerably by market, with Maryland averaging $0.36 per unit at the high end and Washington at just $0.03 per unit at the low end<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2014 a spread that<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">reflects significant differences in market maturity, regulatory structure, and competitive density.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Market Divergence: Premium vs. Value<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One of the report\u2019s clearest themes is the growing pricing gap between emerging and mature markets. New York remains the most premium-priced wholesale market in the network, reflecting the state\u2019s relatively new adult-use rollout and constrained legal supply environment, with a pricing score of 1.8 out of 18.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At the other end, Oklahoma ranks as the most value-driven market with a score of 17.2, driven by persistent oversupply stemming from its highly saturated licensing<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Other notable market highlights:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Alaska ranks as the second-highest-priced market, with geographic isolation and limited cross-border competition supporting elevated wholesale prices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Michigan is one of the most value-driven markets nationwide, and its newly implemented 24% wholesale tax could add further pressure on operators.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">California, despite being the largest market by active buyer count at 1,588, prices slightly below the national midpoint, with illicit market competition, widespread local retail opt-outs, and high tax burdens contributing to downward pricing pressure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What It Means for Operators<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The U.S. cannabis wholesale landscape in 2025 reflects an industry no longer defined by early expansion alone, but by refinement, competition, and operational discipline. Many cannabis businesses continue to operate against familiar industry headwinds, including margin compression, regulatory complexity, and ongoing competition from the illicit market.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\">\n<div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LeafLink\u2019s Wholesale Cannabis Pricing Guide, drawing on over 400,000 SKUs and billions of dollars in transaction data across 18 U.S. markets throughout 2025, paints a picture of the wholesale cannabis pricing continuing its downward march as markets mature and supply expands \u2014 with each market and product category telling a slightly different story. The Big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10934,5062,10802,9290,10851,11091,9,6845,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[10935,5063,10816,9295,10852,11092,6846],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11126"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}