This week we turn our attention to the beginning of the cannabis value chain by looking at where the 9,190 cultivation licenses were generated last year. As readers of this blog have seen with our analysis of manufacturing and retail/dispensaries – all the activity has been concentrated in Oklahoma and California. Those two states accounted for 75% of new dispensary/retail licenses, 86% of new Manufacturing Licenses and an unbelievable 92% of new cultivation licenses.

Key Findings:

• The rest of the nation added 689 cultivation licenses over the course of the whole year. California and Oklahoma beat that number in one month.
• There was also a consistent issuance of cultivation licenses last year, especially from March to September when an average of just over 1,000 licenses per month were issued nationwide..

• In a September blog post we analyzed the key differences between the OK and CA markets that included program history, regulatory frameworks and licensing fees to name a few.
• So far this year CA and OK account for 556 of the 591 new cultivation licenses (94%) but California has authorized 368 (62%). Perhaps Oklahoma has finally peaked? Their Q4 issuance was way down from Q3.

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‍Cannacurio is a weekly column from Cannabiz Media featuring insights from the most comprehensive license data platform.