Cannabis Licensing Slump Continues:
Active Licenses Fall for Seventh Straight Quarter
The first quarter of 2026 brought more bad news for U.S. cannabis operators, as total active business licenses fell for the seventh consecutive quarter.
According to the latest licensing data from CRB Monitor’s Q1 2026 Cannabis Business Licensing Review, active U.S. licenses dropped 1% to 36,169, marking a 6% decline from a year ago and a 9% drop over the past two years.
Even more concerning is the collapse in new approvals. Approved and pending licenses marked the category’s seventh straight quarterly decline. New approvals are now 18% lower than they were a year ago. The pain is most acute in states like Oklahoma and Michigan.
Not everything is doom and gloom. Vertically integrated operator applications rebounded and Texas saw a small rise in pre-licensing activity.
But for most established markets? The message is clear: consolidation, not expansion, is the new normal, and growth prospects related to federal rescheduling may be muted at best.
Download the full Q1 licensing report below.
