Oregon cannabis consumers needed medical licenses to purchase edibles until June of last year, when the state permitted the sale of edibles to recreational consumers. So with fresh data from Oregon for June of this year from cannabis market research leader BDS Analytics, we now can finally study categories like edibles and concentrates over the course of 12 months of sales and draw insights from sales trends.

It is clear that Oregonians have taken to edibles. Sales grew by 104 percent between June of last year and this year between both the medical and recreational channels. All of the growth comes from the recreational channel, where sales expanded by 172 percent; sales of edibles declined by 4 percent in the medical channel.

A year ago in June, when the state introduced edibles for recreational consumers, sales between the medical and recreational channels were nearly on par, with $1.22 million sold through medical channels and $1.95 through recreational. But the balance shifted over the course of the year, in dramatic fashion. During June of this year, sales through the recreational channel were nearly four-and-a-half times as large as through the medical channel — $1.18 million in medical and $5.29 million in recreational.

Consumer preferences are clear in Oregon, with nearly half (49 percent) of edibles sales in June represented by candy; about two-thirds of the candy sold was in the form of gummies. Chocolates lagged relatively far behind, at 22 percent, and tinctures claimed about 20 percent of the edibles market. The shift towards candy in Oregon mirrors what happened in Colorado and Washington, where candy now commands about half of the edibles market.

Just months ago, back in February, Oregon cannabis consumers spent more on chocolate than on candy, but the candy category has been growing rapidly. In June, consumers spent about $3 million on candy, and $1 million on chocolate. While sales are flat for chocolate, at least for the time being, they are on the rise for tinctures. In August of last year, tinctures fell behind candy, chocolate and infused foods, but in June of this year sales of tinctures rose to such an extent the category is nearly even with chocolates for second place. If the trend lines continue in July, tinctures will capture second place in Oregon, in terms of market share among edibles.