As we roll along through the month of January, certain cannabis business trends for 2023 already are taking shape. For consumers, these trends will include a wider variety of great cannabis products. For the industry, long-running issues on legalization and banking services will remain.

For the purposes of this list, the focus is on trends impacting cannabis businesses (for a look at more consumer-oriented trends, read this). The cannabis curious and long-time cannabis veteran users are benefitting from a maturing cannabis market that continues to offer higher quality cannabis products, as well as an expanding list of cannabis products.

Some of the Biggest Cannabis Business Trends for 2023

The following trends look to become bigger in 2023, according to experts in the industry and business publications such as Kiplinger. The coming year will be another exciting time for cannabis consumers as legal markets continue to expand and some big ones, such as New York, have their first full year of legal recreational marijuana sales.

Expansion of Products

While the sales of cannabis flower continue to grow in all the legal markets, it holds less of a percentage of total sales than in the past. People continue to experiment with non-smoking ways of using cannabis, including vaping, edibles and concentrates. Consumers seem not so much to replace flower with other products, but rather add the other products to their consumption habits.

Emergence of Other Cannabinoids

Companies will continue to experiment with more products that use a variety of cannabinoids, the naturally occurring chemical compounds in cannabis. New products are expected that contain CBN, which has anti-anxiety and sedative properties, and THCV. which produces a short-lived but intense high and also has shown appetite suppression properties.

Cannabis Companies Will Grow

Writing in Kiplinger, Morgan Paxhia, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Poseidon Investment Management, wrote that he expects “a healthy return of mergers and acquisitions for many areas of cannabis.” This can lead to larger companies with more efficient and streamlined services, benefiting customers. He also projects about $46 billion in consumer spending on cannabis by 2026 (it was about $26 billion in 2022).

More Wellness Products

CBD products, which have no psychoactive properties, have grown in popularity as research shows their potential in promoting health and wellness. Companies will continue to look at potential new wellness products, including those using CBD and other cannabinoids, as research in this important area increases in the coming years. Consumers have quickly become comfortable with using CBD products, which are available across the country thanks for hemp becoming legal in 2018.

Legalization Efforts Continue

Few expect much action at the federal level on legalization with a Republican-controlled House. However, after hitting what Marijuana Business Daily calls a “red wall” in conservative states, cannabis advocates are expected to redouble legalization efforts in 2023. They also should feel increased optimism with President Joe Biden’s decision to order a study on whether cannabis should remain a Schedule I illegal drug.

These are some of the trends cannabis businesses will encounter in 2023. It promises to be another exciting year for the industry, as well as for cannabis consumers who benefit from a market growing in sophistication and number of products.