Many companies track dispensary and retail licenses because this is where commerce is transacted with patients and consumers. To many it is the best way to gauge the health of the cannabis economy, and it allows analysts to forecast sales, growth, and profits – among other metrics.

Based on the Cannabiz Media License Database, the industry issued 2,867 licenses for dispensaries and retailers last year.

State Breakdown:

Key Insights:

• Oklahoma issued 1,510 licenses in 2019 which brings their total to over 2,200 since the start of their program.
• Oklahoma issued more dispensary licenses than all the other states combined last year.
• California issued 628 but these were essentially re-issues of the temporary licenses that had expired.
• Other states of note were Michigan with 125, Florida at 123, and Oregon at 99.
• The top five states accounted for 87% of the new dispensary/retail licenses issued.

Looking ahead into 2020 – Missouri will be atop the January leaderboard with 192 dispensaries issued on January 24. To no one’s surprise, Oklahoma has already issued 39 dispensary licenses in 2020.

Cannabiz Media customers can stay up-to-date on these and other new licenses through our newsletters, alerts, and reports modules. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive these weekly reports delivered to your inbox. Or you can schedule a demo for more information on how to access the Cannabiz Media License Database yourself to dive further into this data.

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