Photo: Everett McIntire/Unsplash
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission issued sales data for December 2021 recently, with overall sales coming in at $88.5 million, up 2.3% from November sales of $86.5 million, but down 8.2% from December 2020 sales of $96.5 million. This is the first uptick in monthly sales since July 2021.
For 2021 overall, Oregon’s legal cannabis market generated over $1.18 billion in retail revenues, up 6.3% from over $1.11 billion in retail sales in 2020.
December adult use sales ticked up by 2.7% to $82.3 million versus November adult use sales of $80 million. Year-on-year, adult use sales fell 6.8% from December 2020’s sales of $88.2 million. Sales to registered patients in Oregon were $6.3 million in December 2021, a 2.9% month-on-month drop from November’s sales of $6.5 million. Year-on-year, medical sales are down 6.8% from nearly $8 million in December 2020.
Month-on-month changes in retail sales revenue for the OLCC’s product categories are as follows:
Usable Marijuana (flower, trim, pre-rolls) rose 0.8% to $45 million in December 2021 versus $44.7 million in November 2021. The market share of usable marijuana jumped 5% to 56.5% in December from the November 2021 market share of 51.6%.
Concentrates and extracts generated $22.3 million in sales in December 2021, a 3.5% jump over November 2021’s sales of $21.5 million. Concentrates and extracts had a 25.2% market share in December 2021, a 0.3% increase from November 2021.
Edibles and tinctures sales were $11.4 million in December 2021, a 6.5% increase over November’s sales of $10.7 million. Edible and tincture market share was up 0.5% month-on-month to 12.8% in December 2021.
Monthly harvest data shows a 66.8% decrease in total harvest volume in December 2021, with wet weight at 275,044 pounds versus 829,224 pounds in November 2021. Year-on-year, total wet weight harvest is up 1.9% over the December 2020 figure of 269,920 pounds.
In 2021, total harvest volume by outdoor growers was 6.4 million pounds (wet), a 55% increase from 4.2 million pounds in 2020. In 2021, indoor harvest was 2.8 million pounds, a 30.1% increase over 2020’s total indoor harvest of 2.1 million pounds. Mixed harvest figures for 2021 show a rather restrained increase of 7.6% year-on-year, with 2021 mixed harvest weight reaching nearly 2 million pounds.
Oregon spot prices are in a strong downtrend with myriad factors weighing on the market, not the least of which is annual harvests increasing by over 50% in some cases as growers leaned into the notion of federal legalization. In 2020, some growers bought into the notion that interstate trade would be available in 2021; when that did not happen, cannabis set aside for the expected demand increase was put on the market, adding to overproduction price pressure from mid to late 2021. Oregon also has the most retailers per capita of any legal cannabis state. Although retail stores’ average sales have remained in a broad uptrend, per-store averages have been falling since March 2021. There has been some talk of a moratorium on retail licenses, but little hard news to report on the topic.
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) issued a news release outlining cannabis industry changes that took effect on January 1, 2022. Regarding cannabis rules, the OLCC states they will continue to pursue “a large scale re-categorization of violations, including reducing types of violations that could result in OLCC canceling a license.” OLCC said they will continue to “overhaul the violation and penalty process” this year, “including reducing penalties for committed violations.”
The OLCC also raised the amount of cannabis consumers can buy from one ounce to two ounces and increased the allowable THC content in edible products from 50 milligrams to 100 milligrams, with the latter change effective April 22, 2022. The OLCC notes that up to 10 milligrams of “single serving portions will need to be scored,” or clearly marked in up to 10 milligram increments. The agency is now accepting label applications for edible packages containing more than 50 milligrams of product but reiterates that packages larger than 50 milligrams cannot be offered for sale before April 22, 2022 even if OLCC has approved the new labeling.
As well, OLCC has said they will allow delivery across city and county lines, contingent on local authorities’ approval, allowing retailers to sell outside of their city or county for the first time. OLCC will provide delivery maps of new delivery zones so consumers can ascertain whether they can receive delivery at their location.