By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Market shift: In California, consumers spent $110.4 million on vape products in February 2026 compared with $98.4 million on flower.
• Gen Z influence: Younger consumers are driving the trend, with Gen Z allocating about 38% of cannabis spending to vape products.
• National trend emerging: Flower still leads in most other states, but the gap is narrowing as vape sales continue to grow.

Cannabis vape products have surpassed traditional flower sales in California, indicating a significant shift in consumer preferences in the largest legal marijuana market in the United States.

Data from the California Department of Cannabis Control show that vape sales first surpassed flower in June 2025 and have remained the leader since. That month, consumers spent $113.3 million on vape products compared to $110.7 million on flower.

The gap widened further in early 2026. In February, retailers reported $110.4 million in vape sales compared to $98.4 million for flower. The trend shows a major shift from just a few years ago. In April 2021, flower sales reached $214.8 million, more than double the $104.2 million spent on vape products.

Industry analysts say younger consumers are mainly responsible for the change. Data from cannabis analytics firm Headset show Gen Z consumers—generally defined as those aged 14 to 29—spend a larger share of their cannabis budgets on vape products than on other types, according to media reports.

According to the firm’s analysis, 38% of Gen Z cannabis spending is allocated to vape products, compared with 32.5% for flower.

“Gen Z is becoming a larger part of the market by the day so eventually their love for this category is going to affect the category assortment of the overall market,” Mitchell Laferla, a senior data analyst at Headset, told SFGate.

Vapes and flower lead California’s nearly $4 billion legal cannabis market. After these two, pre-rolls are the third most popular, followed by edibles and concentrates.

While California now shows vapes in the top spot, the nationwide shift is still evolving. Headset data suggest that flower continues to outsell vape pens in most other state markets, although the gap is closing.

Over the past year in other states, Headset data shows:

• Oregon: 3.2 million units of flower for $49.5 million compared with 2.4 million vape units for $47 million.
• Colorado: 5.2 million units of flower sold for $71.4 million, while 2.1 million vape units sold for $55.4 million
• New York: 2.6 million units of flower sold for $132.1 million compared to 2 million vape units for $94.2 million
• Missouri: 3.4 million units of flower for $110.2 million compared with 1.9 million vape units for $70.7 million

Industry analysts say vape products could soon surpass flower in additional markets as younger consumers continue to enter the legal cannabis market and shift purchasing habits toward vaporized products.