Pre-Roll Demand Is Climbing: What the Numbers Show

Pre-roll transactions across our dispensaries hit their highest single-month volume on record in May 2026. That wasn’t a one-month spike - it was the fourth consecutive month the number went up. February, March, April, May: each one higher than the last.

Pre-rolls have been gaining ground as a format for a while now. Our sales data gives us a specific window into how that’s played out, and the spring 2026 run is the clearest signal yet that this isn’t a passing trend. Here’s what the numbers show - and what they mean if you’re shopping the category.

What our sales data shows

Through the summer of 2025, pre-roll transactions across our dispensaries averaged around 15,300 items a month. At that point, the format had limited product variety - fewer options on the shelf, fewer occasions to reach for one.

That changed as the category expanded and more pre-roll products came to market. By fall 2025, monthly transactions had climbed into the high-20,000s to low-30,000s. Volume settled into a new baseline through winter 2025-26, holding steady in the upper-20,000s as the expanded selection normalized.

Then came the spring streak. From February through May 2026, transactions rose every single month:

• February 2026: 29,525 items
• March 2026: 34,395 items
• April 2026: 40,392 items
• May 2026: 43,072 items

That’s a 45.9% climb over four months with no pullback. May 2026 is the highest pre-roll volume month in the 12 months we’re tracking - nearly three times the summer 2025 baseline. The spring acceleration, layered on top of a category that had already grown, is what makes the trend worth paying attention to.

Why pre-rolls are winning on convenience

Ask a budtender why customers keep reaching for pre-rolls, and you’ll hear some version of the same answer: there’s nothing to set up.

Flower is the most customizable cannabis format, but it requires a grinder, papers or a pipe, and a few minutes of attention. Pre-rolls skip all of that. You pick one up, you use it, and you’re done. For a first-time buyer who’s still figuring out the format landscape, that low barrier matters. For an experienced consumer who wants a specific option for a specific moment - something portable, something shareable, something that doesn’t require prep - it matters in a different way.

That’s not a new argument for pre-rolls. What has changed is the product behind it. The reputation pre-rolls carried for years - that they were made from leftover trim and shake rather than quality flower - has been fading as the category itself has improved. That reputation gap closing is part of what our transaction data reflects.

For a full breakdown of how pre-rolls are made and what actually separates a quality one from a subpar one, our guide to cannabis pre-rolls covers the details.

How the format evolved - and why it matters

The pre-roll category today looks very different from even a few years ago. Three developments in particular expanded who it’s for.

Infused pre-rolls. Adding concentrates - hash, kief, oil - to a pre-roll changed the product tier entirely. Infused options gave consumers who had been going straight to concentrates a reason to shop the pre-roll section, and they opened up a premium end of the market that previously didn’t exist in this format.

Multi-packs and minis. A single pre-roll fits one occasion. A five-pack changes how you shop. Multi-packs created a repeatable purchase pattern - something worth stocking rather than grabbing in the moment. Smaller minis gave new or occasional consumers a lower-commitment entry point without asking them to commit to a full-size option.

Better fill quality. As more cultivators began using whole-flower or freshly-ground flower rather than trim in their pre-rolls, the quality argument against the format started to lose its footing. When the product actually delivers the flower experience consumers are looking for, the convenience case becomes a lot easier to make.

Together, these changes turned pre-rolls into a category with real range. A format that can serve someone’s first dispensary visit and an experienced consumer’s deliberate purchase doesn’t look like a single product anymore - and the transaction data we’re tracking reflects that breadth.

What to think about when you’re shopping pre-rolls

The pre-roll section has a lot more variety than it did a couple of years ago, which makes it worth thinking through a few things before you pick one up.

Single or multi-pack. If you haven’t settled on a format or product you like yet, a single is the lower-stakes starting point. If you already know what works for you, a multi-pack is typically the better value.

Infused or non-infused. Infused pre-rolls generally deliver a more intense experience than non-infused options - not better or worse, just different in kind. If you’re newer to cannabis or tend to prefer a lighter experience, a non-infused pre-roll made with quality flower is usually the better first call.

Size. Smaller formats (minis or smalls) are built for shorter sessions. Standard-size or king options burn longer. Match the size to the occasion you’re actually planning for.

Ask a budtender. This is the most practical thing we can offer. The pre-roll section has diversified quickly, and a good budtender can narrow things down based on what you’re actually looking for - without you having to guess at the difference between every option on the shelf. In states where cannabis is legal, the staff at a licensed dispensary is there for exactly this kind of question.

Our cannabis pre-rolls guide is a good next read if you want to go deeper on format types, what to look for on the label, and how pre-rolls compare to other flower formats.

Where this goes from here

The spring 2026 run in our data isn’t a fluke - it’s consistent, month over month, with no interruption. Pre-rolls have moved from a category consumers grabbed as an afterthought to one they’re planning around. The format earned that by getting better: more options, better inputs, more occasions it fits.

If you’ve been watching the pre-roll section but haven’t found your footing in it yet, the range available now is broader than it’s ever been. There’s almost certainly something that fits where you are - you just might need a few minutes with a budtender to find it.

Find prerolls at our Maryland or any of our Ohio Dispensaries.