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The cannabis industry has been on a rough ride for the past few years. Sales are down in some of the nation’s most prolific markets, including Washington and Colorado. California’s weed industry currently owes $1.3 billion in back taxes. That seems bad?
Entering 2025, I’m cautiously optimistic. Recent data from Cannabis Business Times shows that New York sold $1 billion of weed in 2024. It’s not the only market achieving massive sales against all odds. Twelve other states sold more than a billion dollars worth of weed last year. The three states that sold the most weed are California at $4.7 billion, Michigan at $3.3 billion, and Florida’s medical-only market which surpassed $2.1 billion. That seems good?
Here are five movements I am looking forward to watching play out in 2025, plus consumer trends I’ve witnessed at the latest weed-industry trade show MJBizCon.
The home grow movement is on the rise. Companies like AC Infinity and Fast Buds (my company) have made their presence known at industry trade shows worldwide, displaying growing demand for small-batch cultivation. Growers require seeds, tents, lights, nutrition and gardening supplies. More cannabis companies are offering up their genetics as seeds to the public instead of keeping them to themselves, which signals a massive shift. America’s cannabis seed market was valued at $567.76 million in 2022. Data Bridge Market Research projects it to reach $2.02 billion by 2030.
Seeds with once-hidden proprietary genetics are now being sold to the masses. It would have been unthinkable in the past to share a certain grower’s ‘magic beans,’ which have always been kept guarded. MJBizCon had a genetics section this year called ‘The Vault,’ the name itself signaling the opening up of long gate-kept strains in the form of seeds. Seeds don’t contain THC. You can ship them. This is huge. It feels like Johnny Appleseed sharing the good crop across America.
You may have noticed that weed products are currently available direct-to-consumer (DTC). Across the country, shipped to your door, as we speak. That’s because they’re derived from hemp. It’s a loophole that some of the best and biggest weed brands are currently utilizing, including Seth Rogen’s Houseplant with a new line of drinks, Stiiizy and Old Pal. These nationwide edibles are made with D9 THC, which is derived from hemp, and not D8 THC, which is derived from weed. The latter D8 THC is also known as good old-fashioned THC. Yes, I know, it isn’t very clear for consumers. But consumers want access, so they are buying them.
If they are extracted well, meaning using organic hemp and safe extraction methods, then I am on board. This is the future—brands shipping weed directly worldwide, just like Amazon. I believe this is the only way that legal weed will ever compete with the unlicensed market. Trust me.
New markets are booming. Cannabis demand is high, especially in the areas where states are still prohibited, like the Midwest and the majority of the South. I see Michigan surpassing California as the highest-selling state in the nation. Florida’s weed legalization measure didn’t pass only because it needed 60% percent to pass, an overwhelming majority, and 57.78 percent of the state voted for it. So close.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Despite this setback, the medical market in Florida is already the third largest in the country. It’s unstoppable. I really want to see a home-growing initiative on the next legalization measure. If access and home grow are on the table, I firmly believe it will pass. If the people are given the option to vote for decriminalization, county by county, I have faith they will do it. Sixty-seven percent of voters approved weed decriminalization in Dallas, Texas, in the last election. Currently, Dallas is getting sued by the state’s Attorney General over the measure. Cannabis advocates across America will fight for legalization. Power to the people.
The world is your oyster. In 2025, cannabis will be a ubiquitous consumer product across the globe. My company will open up headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, for the first time since its founding in 2010. I think back to how severely prohibited cannabis has historically been on the Asian continent and feel immense gratitude for how far legalization has come. Billions of people need safe access to weed. There’s no putting the genie back in the bottle.
If your local county or state market has you down, don’t fret. Focus on worldwide expansion. Sink your teeth into international trade shows. In 2025, Spannabis will be larger than ever before, and I plan to be there with myteam watching the world’s cannabis consumer market bloom exponentially.
The media landscape is shifting under our feet. I predict that changes to social media’s brutal weed policies made this year will reverberate for a generation. Mark Zuckerberg said at the start of this year that he plans to relax censorship on Meta platforms. This may pose a challenge for politics and “facts,” unfortunately. But, on the plus side, it may be a boon for educational weed accounts that have been unfairly censored in the past.
I predict safer, censorship-free online communities like Reddit and Grow Diaries will become bustling ecosystems where weed creators and businesses can thrive. I would love to see Instagram finally offer a safe space for all marginalized communities, cannabis users and growers included. If not, then a replacement like BlueSky will take over. The most used social media app on earth, TikTok, is still on shaky ground in the US. These changes will be felt. Fingers crossed that it’s for the better.
2025 is shaping up to be a pivot point for the cannabis industry. These trends are more than simple fads—they reflect timeless movements and tried-and-true methods that will be paved into the road we drive into the future. I can’t wait to witness power shifting back to the people via home grow, more direct-to-consumer options and censorship-free media. What’s this feeling, dare I say, hope?
“}]] The cannabis industry has been on a rough ride for the past few years. Sales are down in some of the nation’s most prolific markets, including Washington and Colorado. Read More
