Cannabis Tech & Trends in 2025

• The consumer market for cannabis will continue to grow and incorporate a wider demographic in 2025.
• Innovation will continue to be crucial for cannabis branding and marketing.
• Cannatech promises to streamline and advance countless industry processes.
• Social measures, such as equity and sustainability, will become ever more important.

The cannabis industry is ever-changing, and not a year goes by that doesn’t promise both major growth and potential setbacks. So, as 2024 comes to a close, many cannabis professionals wonder what the future might hold. Join us as we shed light on what we expect to be the major cannabis industry trends of 2025.

What Is the Future of the Cannabis Industry?

Prospects for the cannabis industry continue to be high. In 2023, the US cannabis industry was estimated to be worth 33.6 billion dollars^[1], and it’s expected to rise to $44.3 billion (30+%) by 2025. Meanwhile, the global market for weed is expected to grow^[2] at similar annual rates and be worth over $444 billion by 2030.

Wondering what’s driving this massive growth? We think it boils down to two main factors:

• Legalization milestones: The legality of weed continues to be a hot topic. In the US, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota had cannabis on their political agenda this year. Moreover, 2024 saw Germany become the third European country to legalize cannabis for adult use.
• Consumer acceptance: Cannabis simply isn’t as taboo as it used to be. In the US, over 70% of voters supported legalization^[3] in Gallup polls in 2024, while 79% of Americans live in a county with at least one dispensary^[4]. And we only expect this approval for weed to continue to spread, both in the US and across the world, in the coming years, further potentiating the cannabis industry’s growth.

Over the coming years, we believe the growing acceptance of cannabis and further legalization will continue to propel the industry forwards. In this article, we’ll shine a light on the trends, innovations, market dynamics, and regulatory changes we expect to see in 2025 as a result of the cannabis industry’s continued growth.

• Will the USA Reschedule Cannabis in 2025?

Before we get stuck into our predictions of cannabis industry trends for 2025, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: US federal legalization/rescheduling.

Of course, we don’t have a crystal ball with which to predict the future. Nonetheless, we can’t deny that we’re closer than ever before to the reclassification of cannabis in the US, which would mean a huge leap forward for both the local and global cannabis markets.

In 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommended the rescheduling of cannabis. Then, in April 2024, the DEA turned heads^[5] by announcing that it would act on former president Joe Biden’s promise to remove cannabis’ Schedule 1 classification. President Donald Trump has also expressed his support for the legalization of cannabis, and industry experts^[6] are confident the Trump administration may see through its rescheduling. And we hope they’re right.

The rescheduling of cannabis in the US would obviously be a major milestone for the global cannabis industry. Some of the benefits it could bring include:

• Improved access for medical cannabis patients through the potential establishment of a federal medical cannabis programme.
• Potential for cross-border cannabis trade with Canada and other countries where weed is legal.
• More standardised regulation and quality.
• An increase in medical cannabis research.
• Improved banking, investment, and other finance options for cannabis companies.
• Influencing other countries to update their cannabis legislation.

Cannabis Industry Trends for 2025

Besides the potential rescheduling of cannabis in the USA, below are some of the top cannabis industry trends we think 2025 holds in store.

• Ever-Evolving Consumer Preferences and Habits

One thing we expect to change dramatically in 2025 (and the coming years as well) is the way we consume cannabis. Some changes in this field that we’ve already seen include:

• A growing demand for smokeless products, especially edibles, drinks, cosmetics, and (of course) vapes.
• Less interest in THC-rich or THC-only products, and a growing demand for health and wellness-focused cannabis products with more balanced cannabinoid levels. This is in part due to the changing demographics of the cannabis industry, which we’ll describe further down in this article.
• A growing acceptance of cannabis. The growth of the CaliSober movement, for instance, is a good example of how cannabis use is becoming ever-more ingrained into modern culture. We expect this to happen gradually, both where weed is legal and where it’s not.

• Cannabis Marketing and Branding Shifts

In 2025, we also expect cannabis companies to take new approaches in their marketing and branding efforts. Some examples of this include:

• Purpose-driven branding: The cannabis market is saturated with brands and products, creating a highly competitive space. We’re already seeing new cannabis brands align themselves with socio-political movements to assert themselves, and we only expect this to continue. In a market with so many marketing restrictions, aligning your brand with a cause can be a huge advantage.
• Social media innovation: Anyone operating in the cannabis space has a hard time taking full advantage of social media. We’re already seeing how this pushes brands and individuals to think outside of the box to promote themselves, and we only expect this trend to continue. Some ways in which to achieve this include:

- Through influencer and celebrity endorsements
- By focusing on educational content, particularly in video format

• Continued Market Growth

As mentioned earlier, the cannabis market promises to keep flourishing. Some of the market-related trends we expect to see in 2025 include:

• Financial growth: Both global and local cannabis markets are estimated to grow in revenue in 2025. The global weed market, for example, is expected to grow by over 30% annually.
• Changing market demographics: As the stigma around cannabis continues to dissolve, we expect the demographic of cannabis users to expand and evolve. What was once an industry powered by and tailored to stoners will come to integrate people from all walks of life.
• M&A will become more important: As the cannabis space becomes more competitive, it’s even harder for businesses (especially small ones) to stay afloat. Mergers and acquisitions, however, offer a solution for large businesses to expand their operations, and unsuccessful ones to get out of the market.
• Access to capital will continue to be an issue: In the US, cannabis companies face tight financial restrictions due to the federal prohibition of cannabis and its Schedule 1 status. This will continue to be an issue until weed is rescheduled or becomes federally legal.

An Inside Look at Exciting Cannabis Tech Trends for 2025

Technology has already revolutionised many aspects of our lives, and it promises to do the same for how we grow and use cannabis. Some of the biggest weed tech trends we expect to see in 2025 include:

• Automation: Automation has already made its way into some hobby grow kits, and automated tools like robotic trimmers are beginning to expand the commercial cultivation space by streamlining growing processes, improving yields, and promoting consistency.
• AI: AI is making its mark on virtually every industry on the planet and promises to play a big role in cannabis, too. Some of the ways we expect to see AI software advance the weed world include:

- By offering real-time data on cultivation parameters
- By automating watering, feeding, ventilation, and other variables in the grow room
- By streamlining the detection and treatment of pest/pathogen issues
- By helping predict the outcome of breeding programmes

• VR, AR, and other emerging technologies: In 2025, we plan to see the cannabis space take advantage of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, as well as blockchain solutions.

- VR has multiple potential applications, such as allowing cannabis cultivation companies to train staff remotely.
- We’ll likely see AR become more popular in B2C models—e.g. dispensaries may use it in their front-of-house, while brands may integrate it into their consumer education campaigns (an important content model for cannabis companies).
- Blockchain could play a central role in supply chain transparency, helping to track products from seed to store and streamline compliance reporting.

Ethics, Social Equity, and Environmental Impact

There’s a huge social aspect to cannabis, and terms like ethics, social equity, and sustainability are already hot topics for cannabis consumers (and therefore, the brands that target them). In 2025, we expect:

• More social equity initiatives: It’s vital for both regulatory entities (like states, for example) and cannabis companies to find ways to include communities and individuals disproportionately affected by prohibition. This is already a hot topic across the US, and we expect it to become even more relevant in 2025 as federal legalization/rescheduling becomes a real possibility.
• Increased environmental efforts: Cannabis consumers tend to be environmentally conscious, and therefore they expect cannabis companies to make an effort to be sustainable. While we expect cannabis companies to continue expanding their environmental efforts for this reason, we also expect them to do so for their own good, as finding ways to minimise the industry’s environmental footprint is crucial to its longevity.
• Regtech and better compliance measures: Playing by the rules is key in the cannabis industry, where the legal landscape is treacherous and ever-changing. We’re already seeing companies like CannaRegs build a comprehensive regulatory platform designed to help cannabis companies in Colorado stay up-to-date on the latest weed laws. And we only expect other, similar platforms to pop up in the future, as there’s no shortage of cannabis companies needing up-to-date legal information.

Looking Ahead: Cannabis in 2025 and Beyond

The cannabis industry is booming, though it’s also not lacking in challenges—many of which stem from the illicit legal status of cannabis in most jurisdictions. And while this makes it a tricky industry to operate in, it also makes it one of tremendous potential.

In 2025, we expect big things for the world of weed, particularly advances in tech integration, sustainability, social equity, and a growing consumer demographic. Of course, there’s always the chance of last-minute legislative changes throwing the industry a curveball. While agility, innovation, and forward-thinking continue to be very necessary for anyone working in weed, we’re proud to say that, once again, we see the cannabis industry continuing its promising ascent.

Here’s to a stellar 2025!