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Cannabis Flower Most Popular Form of Consumption in Colorado |

New Frontier Data has reviewed Colorado sales data, and discovered that the flower reigns supreme among a wide range of products.

A new analysis of Colorado’s cannabis sales data was presented by New Frontier Data on November 2. The company used data from Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division to find that cannabis flower sales increased dramatically between 2014 and 2020. 

According to the number of pounds sold by state to consumers over that period of seven years, 148,000 were sold in 2014. This was followed gradually by 584,000 in 2020. The compound annual rate of growth is 26 percent.

New Frontier Data defines a average-sized joint to be one-third of an gram of marijuana. Colorado sold 201,000,000 joints at this size in 2014 according to New Frontier Data. The state had sold 795 million joint by 2020. The state has already sold more than 3.4 Billion joints in the seven years that Colorado has had a recreational marijuana law. 

“That flower sales continue to increase at such a pace seven years since the market launched suggests that smoking flower will remain a durable preference for the foreseeable future,” New Frontier Data Chief Knowledge Officer and author John Kagia wrote in his analysis. “However, the dominance of flower belies the seismic changes happening to consumer behavior and highlights the imperative for producers and brands to understand the tides of evolving consumer preferences.”

Despite Colorado’s strong sales growth, there is still a wide range of preferences among consumers. New Frontier Data’s 2021 Cannabis Consumer Evolution report notes that 57 percent of consumers use both flower and non-flower products, with only 19 percent saying they don’t choose flower over other options. 

The percentage of young consumers (18-34) was twice that of those aged 55-plus, who were 35 percent more likely than the older group to consume both non-flower as well. The older age group, with 40 percent and 15%, was more likely to consume only flower than the younger.

People who smoked cannabis less often used only flower. Those who smoked more frequently had a greater chance of using a wide range of cannabis products. Gender demographics showed that women chose flower less often than men. Due to the higher risk of smoking, medical cannabis patients reported that they don’t use flower for their illnesses. 

Black market flower sales have a fascinating effect on flower popularity. New Frontier Data has found that only 22% of cannabis-loving consumers live in controlled markets. However, 33% of the illegally traded customers are more inclined to use marijuana exclusively. Twenty-eight percent of consumers who purchase their cannabis products from physical retail stores or delivery services were more likely to buy non-cannabis flower products, in comparison to only 13 percent who would purchase from “informal sources.” 

Colorado’s legal landscape is thriving because of the availability and promotion for new marijuana companies and products. “That dynamic reflects the regulated market’s power in introducing consumers to new, alternative product forms: not only is the legal market far more effective in innovating new product forms than is the illicit market, but the retail experience by which consumers can speak with knowledgeable budtenders regarding their needs and preferences is hastening the adoption of value-added products in regulated markets,” Kagia wrote.

While cannabis flower might be the most widely consumed form of cannabis, New Frontier Data anticipates that in the coming years it will become less prominent in favour of other non-flower options. “The fragmentation of the product landscape is quickly reshaping the flower-dominant segment of the market; based on current trends, consumers who use flower exclusively are likely to become increasingly dominated by older, male and less-frequent users.”

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