California’s legal marijuana market has generated more than $2.2 billion in sales during the first seven months of 2026, according to data from cannabis analytics firm Headset.
Licensed retailers sold approximately $332.82 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products in July, bringing the state’s January-through-July total to roughly $2.28 billion. Headset continues to rank California as the largest legal marijuana market in the United States by monthly sales.
July followed $323.14 million in June, $333 million in May, $334.81 million in April, $329.70 million in March, $302.46 million in February and $324.42 million in January.
For comparison, California marijuana sales reached $2.145 billion during the same period in 2025. That means sales through July 2026 are about $135 million, or 6.3%, higher than during the same period last year.
California voters legalized recreational marijuana in November 2016 through Proposition 64, with the state’s first licensed adult-use stores opening January 1, 2018. Adults 21 and older may possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and eight grams of concentrated cannabis, while home cultivation is limited to six plants.
California currently imposes a 15% state cannabis excise tax on retail sales, in addition to applicable state and local sales taxes and local cannabis business taxes. The excise tax briefly increased to 19% from July through September 2025 before returning to 15% on October 1, 2025.
California was also the first state in the country to legalize medical marijuana, with voters approving Proposition 215 in 1996. Despite years of declining annual sales and continued competition from the illicit market, the latest numbers indicate the state remains comfortably the country’s largest legal cannabis market.
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