Cannabis & Capital analysis
15,545 cannabis license records across 9 tracked states
Cannabis & Capital’s regulator-backed index contains 15,545 license records from nine states; 11,409 are labeled active or issued and 890 show an expiration date within 60 days (OR has the largest count in the index).
The signal
Regulator lists are often treated as a live count of market participants, but they mix different status labels and categories. The tension for operators, investors, founders and advisors is whether these public license counts meaningfully reflect current operating capacity — and how much short-term change is implied by upcoming expirations in the index.
The numbers
- Total records in our nine-state index: 15,545.
- Records labeled in regulator terminology as active or issued: 11,409 (status terminology varies by regulator).
- Records in the index with an expiration date within the next 60 days: 890 (Oregon has the largest count in the current index).
Why it matters
Facts - These counts are collected directly from state regulator license records imported into Cannabis & Capital’s index. - State license categories and status terminology are not identical; cross-state totals describe records in the index rather than directly comparable operating capacity.
Interpretations and concrete implications (clearly inferential) - Short-term churn risk: 890 records with near-term expirations creates a defined set of licenses where outcomes (renewal, lapse, surrender, or enforcement action) will change the public registry. That can alter competitive supply and market access if many do not renew or if regulators reclassify statuses. - Due diligence signal: Investors and acquirers relying on regulator lists should treat the 11,409 “active/issued” label as an input, not a direct measure of on‑the‑ground revenue-generating capacity, because comparable status definitions differ by state. - Operational planning: Operators monitoring competitors or partners in these nine states should expect visible registry movements over the next two months tied to expirations in the index; whether that translates to physical closures or ownership changes depends on renewal outcomes and local rules. - Advisory focus: For founders and advisors, the value of scraping regulator lists is highest when combined with follow-up on renewal filings and state-specific status definitions; the raw counts identify where to prioritize that follow-up.
What to watch
- Renewal outcomes for the 890 records listed as expiring in 60 days in the current index — the proportion renewed versus lapsed will strengthen or weaken the interpretation that registry churn is material.
- State-by-state mapping of status labels to operational reality (for example, which regulator statuses reliably indicate active retail or production operations); improved mappings would make the 11,409 figure more comparable across states.
- Next scheduled public dataset updates from the nine tracked regulators; changes between snapshots will show the pace of registry turnover and reclassifications.
Methodology
Counts are calculated from the latest license records imported from state regulators. State license categories and status terminology are not identical, so cross-state totals describe records in the index rather than directly comparable operating capacity. This is an original Cannabis & Capital analysis of public data.