For years, flower sat comfortably at the top of the cannabis market. It was the category every other product was measured against, from edibles and vapes to concentrates and beverages. But in 2025, that changed.
According to the newly released 2026 State of the Pre-Roll Market Report, pre-rolls officially overtook flower in unit sales for the first time in the U.S., making them the top-selling cannabis product on the market by volume. Pre-roll revenue climbed 9.8% year-over-year to nearly $3.6 billion, while unit sales jumped 18.6% to 383.2 million units sold. No other major category posted stronger growth.
It is a milestone few would have predicted just five years ago, when pre-rolls were often viewed as a convenience item or an entry-level product. Today, they are the growth engine of cannabis retail. And while there are several reasons behind the category’s rise, including infused products, multi-pack formats and accessible price points, one consumer group stands out above the rest: Millennials.
Millennials Choose Pre-Rolls
The report found Millennials accounted for 43.9% of all pre-roll revenue in 2025 and 43.1% of all units sold. In total, that generation spent roughly $1.6 billion on pre-rolls last year alone, purchasing 164.6 million units.
That means nearly half of all pre-roll dollars in the tracked U.S. cannabis market came from Millennial consumers, no other age group came close. For cannabis brands and retailers, the message is clear, millennials are not just participating in the pre-roll boom, they’re driving it.
This makes sense when you consider where Millennials sit in the consumer lifecycle. Many are now in their prime earning years, balancing disposable income with increasingly busy lifestyles. Convenience matters, value matters and consistency matters – all areas where pre-rolls perform well.
Unlike loose flower, pre-rolls require no grinder, rolling papers or preparation. They offer a ready-to-smoke format that fits modern consumer expectations.
The rise of Millennials as the dominant pre-roll consumer reflects broader buying habits seen across industries.
Millennials often favor products that combine convenience with experience. They are also highly responsive to branding, product quality and curated formats. The pre-roll category has evolved rapidly to meet those preferences, and today’s pre-roll market looks very different than it did in the early years of legalization. Consumers now have access to infused pre-rolls, multi-packs, varying sizes and premium filter tips like glass and ceramic. This product evolution has helped transform pre-rolls from a basic add-on purchase into a category of its own.
Millennials, who helped fuel the rise of craft beer, premium coffee, meal delivery apps and subscription services appear to be responding to the same mix of convenience and quality inside cannabis.
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Millennial Women Are a Major Force
Another standout finding from the report is that Millennial women ranked as the second-largest pre-roll buyer segment overall. The category still skews male, with men accounting for 58.9% of purchases and 60.2% of dollars spent. But Millennial women placed just behind Millennial men and ahead of both Generation X men and Gen Z men in overall buying power, and that matters.
For years, cannabis marketing often focused heavily on young male consumers, but the data suggests brands relying on outdated assumptions may be missing one of the most valuable audiences in the category. Millennial women are increasingly influential shoppers across consumer packaged goods, wellness and lifestyle categories, and pre-rolls now appear to be part of that trend.
Brands that build products and messaging with broader audiences in mind will be better positioned for future growth.
Gen Z Is Growing Fast
While Millennials currently dominate, Gen Z showed the fastest revenue growth in the report at 16.8%, while unit sales rose 22.1%, suggesting a new wave of consumers is entering the market and adopting pre-rolls quickly. For operators, this creates a two-track opportunity, to serve Millennials, who currently drive category dollars while building brand loyalty with Gen Z while their spending power rises further.
Gen Z’s preferences may also push continued innovation in branding, infusion and sustainability.
What Comes Next for Pre-Rolls
The report projects continued pre-roll growth in 2026, forecasting total category sales between $3.8 billion and $4 billion, and up to $5.2 billion by 2030. If that happens, Millennials may be remembered as the generation that helped move pre-rolls from an afterthought to the centerpiece of cannabis retail.
Flower may still be iconic, but the numbers now tell a different story, and in the modern cannabis market, pre-rolls are king.
