Short answer: 25,005 DC residents bought from a licensed dispensary in August 2026, up 31.2% from 19,052 a year earlier, according to the ABCA's August 2026 Medical Cannabis Program Report. Their purchases came to $4,062,746, up 26.7%. Residents now account for about 63% of all dispensary sales, up from about 59% a year ago. For the full picture, see our full August 2026 DC cannabis market report.
The numbers
| ABCA measure | Aug 2025 | Aug 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC resident buyers (unique patients) | 19,052 | 25,005 | +31.2% |
| DC resident transactions | 49,479 | 69,635 | +40.7% |
| DC resident sales | $3,205,556 | $4,062,746 | +26.7% |
| Registered DC resident patients | 73,407 | 143,556 | +95.6% |
| Total dispensary sales | $5,447,082 | $6,489,456 | +19.1% |
Percent changes are our math from ABCA's monthly reports.
Our read
Registration doubled, but buying grew by a third. ABCA's registered resident count nearly doubled in a year. Monthly buyers grew much less. As a rough ESTIMATE, about 17% of registered residents bought in August (25,005 ÷ 143,556). That's an approximation because ABCA counts registrations and monthly buyers differently. The gap suggests many residents register and buy occasionally, or not at all in a given month.
Residents are buying more often. Transactions grew faster (+40.7%) than buyers (+31.2%), which works out to about 2.8 transactions per resident buyer in August 2026 (69,635 ÷ 25,005).
The visitor share is shrinking. Self-certified temporary patients, whom ABCA lists as non-DC residents, still bought $1,973,150 in August, or about 30% of dispensary sales, and reciprocity patients about 7%. Both shares are lower than a year ago. Out-of-state visitors can find the steps in our visitor rules; residents can see how DC's self-certification works.
For context: nationally, the number of clinicians issuing medical cannabis authorizations rose 16%, MJBizDaily and NORML report. That counts authorizers, not buyers, so it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. It does show DC's patient growth is part of a broader medical expansion.
What it means
The licensed market in DC is increasingly a local market. For residents, that means the system built around self-certification is working as a gateway to licensed stores. For licensed retailers, the growth customer is the DC resident who comes back, not the visitor. ABCA's September report, expected in mid-October, will show whether the trend held.
Sources
- ABCA Medical Cannabis Program Report, August 2026
- ABCA Medical Cannabis Program Report, August 2025 (via our DC market data hub)
- MJBizDaily and NORML on medical authorizers, October 2026