Q1 Cannabis Wholesale Report: Best-Selling Brands And Products, Pharma, CBD And Interstate Commerce

Cannabis-focused wholesale management platform LeafLink recently released its most recent quarterly report with updates, insights and trends the company observed and gathered in the first quarter.

The platform is the largest aggregate source of wholesale cannabis data, serving more than 950 brands and 2,900 retailers; LeafLink processes 13 percent of all wholesale cannabis transactions in the U.S.

The following are some of the key data points from the report.

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Brands And Products

The best-selling cannabis brands in 2018 were as follows, according to LeafLink:

The best-selling products included: 

Industry Trends, Predictions

Ryan Smith, co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, highlighted three industry trends, including some predictions for 2019.

Pharma Commits to Cannabis

"In 2018, several big-name alcohol and tobacco brands made significant investments in the cannabis industry by partnering with existing companies or starting their own," Smith said.

"With CBD now legal in 31 states, we’ll begin to see more pharmaceutical companies approaching cannabis companies for strategic partnerships. Novartis AG NVS led the way in 2018 by partnering with Tilray Inc TLRY, but we predict more movement this year."

CBD Breaks Away from Cannabis

"The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp-derived products from the list of schedule one narcotics, leading to a dramatic increase in the popularity and accessibility of hemp-derived CBD products across the country," Smith said.

"While its legal status is still unclear, we anticipate a distancing of CBD from cannabis into its own discrete industry in 2019."

Interstate Commerce Builds Momentum

"While interstate commerce of cannabis products is federally prohibited, momentum is building to permit it, especially across Oregon's borders. Oregon’s Craft Cannabis Alliance is compelling state legislators to revisit a plan that would permit interstate transfer of cannabis products with adjacent legal states that comply with specific rules," Smith said.

"Two Oregon senators also petitioned the FDA in January to permit food products containing CBD to cross state lines. We think this is just the beginning."

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Photo by Javier Hasse.