Cannabis retailers had a banner day on 4/20

Cannabis retailers had a banner day on the industry’s answer to Black Friday, 4/20.

Headset, a cannabis data analytics company, found that 4/20 sales were up in the 20 states it tracked.

• Oregon retailers had the most YoY growth, up 189%, “just ahead of Florida’s 185%.”
• Even states at the bottom of Headset’s list still had dramatic growth, namely Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, all of whose April 20 revenues were up ~70%.

Joint task force: In the city of New York, meanwhile, where an estimated 2,500 illegal cannabis shops operate, compared to just 40 legal ones, Mayor Eric Adams joined a press conference held by Governor Kathy Hochul to announce new measures to try to shut down the illegal shops.

Under the new provisions, state and local officials are authorized to padlock stores after an inspection reveals they’re operating illegally.

The law also subjects landlords who’ve been notified that they’re renting to illegal shops but don’t evict them to a $50,000 fine.

“Illegal shops will not disappear overnight, but New Yorkers will eventually see a change in their communities,” Hochul said at the press conference. “The insanity stops now.”