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For decades, flower was cannabis and was the product format most closely tied to the culture, the cornerstone of dispensary menus and put simply, the standard against which every up-and-coming format was measured. Edibles, vapes, concentrates and beverages might have expanded the ways people consume cannabis, but traditional flower remained on top.
Fast forward to 2025, and that fact has finally changed.
According to the 2026 State of the Pre-Roll Market Report, pre-rolls overtook flower in unit sales for the first time, officially becoming the top-selling cannabis product by volume across the country, generating $3.6 billion in sales during the year, an increase of 9.8% from 2024. Consumers purchased 383.2 million units, pushing unit sales up 18.6%. No other major cannabis category delivered stronger growth across both sales dollars and units sold than the humble pre-roll.
The change is about more than people suddenly buying more joints and blunts, it reflects a broader shift in what consumers want from their cannabis experience, led by convenience as they are ready to consume right out of the package, but also product variety and the ability to test new brands and strains without committing to a large flower purchase.
Why Consumers Are Choosing Pre-Rolls
The appeal of a pre-roll is easy to understand, there is no flower to break apart, no sticky fingers, no grinder to clean and no rolling technique to master; just open the package, light and enjoy it.
This simplicity makes pre-rolls easily approachable for newer consumers who may not own many smoking accessories or know how to roll, and equally useful for seasoned smokers who simply don’t want to prepare a joint or blunt every time they consume.
And as stated previously, pre-rolls are also one of the easiest ways to try something new. Instead of purchasing an entire eighth of an unfamiliar brand and/or strain, a consumer can pick up a single joint or a small multi-pack without making the same financial commitment.
That combination of convenience and accessibility has led to five consecutive years of growth, with annual pre-roll revenue more than doubling from $1.68 billion in 2021 to nearly $3.6 billion in 2025.
Pre-roll market share reached 15.9% in 2025, representing a 29.5% increase over five years and 7.6% growth from the previous year. Even as the broader cannabis market slowed to only 1.5% growth, pre-rolls continued to attract more shoppers.
Pre-Rolls Are No Longer One-Size-Fits-All
The days of minimal pre-roll options at dispensaries are officially over. Today’s retail shelves include strain-specific pre-rolls, mini joints, infused products, premium flower, specialty filters and branded packaging ready to attract new customers. Consumers can find a pre-roll for every occasion as well: inexpensive singles for a casual sesh, high-potency infused formats for seasoned smokers and multi-packs that lean closer to a premium packaged product.
And multi-packs have become especially popular in the States. In 2025, around 48.5% of pre-roll products were sold in multi-pack formats, while 90 of the 100 best-selling products in the category came in multi-preroll packs.
The 2.5-gram five-pack was the clear standout format, generating $612 million in revenue by itself.
Multi-packs make sense for regular consumers looking to reduce their visits to the dispensary. Single-serving joints take up less space, are easier to portion and are more convenient to carry than a container of flower, and they also allow shoppers to purchase several ready-to-smoke sessions at once without committing to one massive joint.
Infused Pre-Rolls Bring More Potency
Infused pre-rolls have also helped transform the category.
Infused pre-roll products have fundamentally changed the category. These products combine flower with concentrates such as hash, kief, live resin, diamonds or other extracts internally and/or externally. The result is a more potent pre-roll with a stronger flavor profile and longer-lasting smoking experience than a standard flower pre-roll.
In 2025, infused products generated approximately $1.68 billion, accounting for nearly 47% of all pre-roll revenue, with unit sales growing 27.8% during the year.
This growth suggests consumers are not choosing pre-rolls only because they are cheap or convenient, many are intentionally paying more for these elevated roll-ups which include higher potency and products that feel appropriate for a special occasion.
For shoppers, however, potency often steals consumer attention. An infused joint often contains significantly more THC than a traditional flower-only pre-roll, so checking the label and understanding the serving size is especially important before lighting up – especially for the novice toker.
A Growing Trend Across the Country
California remained the largest pre-roll market by revenue in 2025, generating $703.5 million in sales, while on the flip side, Michigan followed with $599 million and led the country in volume, with consumers purchasing 133.2 million units.
New York experienced the most rapid expansion as pre-roll revenue increased 96% year-over-year, while unit sales rose 120.4%. The category is therefore growing in both established markets where consumers have years of legal shopping experience, and newer markets, where dispensary product offerings are still developing.
Millennials remain the biggest pre-roll buyers, accounting for 43.9% of revenue and 43.1% of units sold, however, every tracked generation purchased more pre-rolls in 2025, showing that the format is attracting more than one type of consumer.
More Options, More Competition
While the total number of active pre-roll brands remained relatively stable in 2025, the market did churn as 589 previously active brands exited the category, while 661 new brands entered it. Prices also continued to fall, with the average pre-roll price declining to $9.31, down 6.6% from 2024 and almost 20% from its 2022 peak.
And while lower prices can be good news for shoppers, price alone certainly does not determine quality. Consumers should also consider the quality and freshness of the flower used inside, test results, infusion ingredients and more.
The Joint Has Entered a New Era
Pre-rolls occupy a unique place in cannabis, a shopper can purchase an affordable single, a discreet pack of minis or a premium infused product without changing the basic ritual of sparking and smoking. Pre-rolls serve the experienced cannabis consumer, occasional users and people making their first legal dispensary purchase.
The report projects that annual pre-roll sales could reach between $3.8 billion and $4 billion in 2026 before surpassing $5 billion by 2030.
Modern consumers are increasingly choosing products that are portable, easy to understand and ready to use, and right now, nothing represents that shift better than the pre-roll.
