Anchorage ranks among top cities for CBD usage: Reports

Although Anchorage doesn’t appear in federal or academic CBD-use surveys, and Alaska is absent from the city tables in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, multiple data sets, from state cannabis sales to national studies, indicate that Anchorage ranks among the top CBD-use cities in the country.

Anchorage likely ranks between 8th and 12th, according to an analysis of statewide spending patterns, dispensary density, and national CBD usage benchmarks.

CBD stands for cannabidiol, a compound found in cannabis, but one that does not produce a high. It is used to treat various health issues, such as pain, anxiety, and seizures, and is available in many forms, including gummy candies, tinctures, topical products, and capsules.

The estimates are built on several documented statistics:

• Anchorage accounts for 70–80% of all cannabis sales in Alaska, according to Alaska Marijuana Control Board sales data and industry summaries.

• Alaska has the highest cannabis spending per capita in the US at $383 per resident in 2022, according to The Marijuana Herald’s analysis of state tax records in 2023. In the first six months of 2025, Anchorage cannabis sales topped $50 million and generated more than $2.6 million in taxes.

• The state also has the most cannabis retailers per capita—36 per 100,000 residents, according to Cross River Therapy’s 2024 national comparison of retailer density.

Access contributes to higher usage: Research shows that higher retail density correlates with higher CBD trial and usage rates. Urban areas with abundant access, such as Denver, demonstrate CBD use 10-15% above the national baseline, according to patterns identified in the 2022 NSDUH and a 2020 young-adult CBD study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research.

Anchorage mirrors those conditions almost exactly.

Estimated Anchorage CBD use is 19–24% of adults. Using NSDUH national usage trends (20.6% past-year adult cannabis use in 2022), Alaska state survey findings, and Anchorage’s extreme retail density.

Comparable cities in the same estimated range include:

• Las Vegas, Nevada — 19–24%

• Portland, Oregon — 18–23%

These estimates are based on combined models using Alaska’s cannabis spending per capita, along with Anchorage’s share of statewide sales, and CBD’s documented 10–15% share of the legal cannabis market nationwide, according to Marijuana Business Daily.

Demographic patterns in Alaska reflect national trends cited in Cross River Therapy’s 2024 CBD consumer data:

• Women are 43% more likely to report CBD use

• Young adults (18–34) cite anxiety relief as their primary motivation (49%)

• Statewide, about one in four adults use cannabis products, including CBD, according to Alaska Department of Health behavioral surveys (2024)

Anchorage remains the engine of Alaska’s cannabis economy, with $108 million in cannabis sales in 2024, according to Anchorage municipal retail tax receipts as reported by The Marijuana Herald in 2024. CBD makes up 10–15% of legal cannabis product revenue.

Based on Anchorage’s 2024 spending of roughly $380 per resident, CBD’s share represents tens of millions of dollars in annual demand.

CBD-only data is not broken out in Alaska Marijuana Control Board reports, Anchorage municipal sales tax records, NSDUH city-level datasets or federal 2020 and 2022 CBD-specific studies. In addition, hemp-derived CBD that is sold outside dispensaries is not tracked by the state, meaning real usage is likely to be higher than estimated.

Despite missing federal city-level statistics, the weight of evidence points to Anchorage is one of the heaviest CBD-use cities in the United States, rivaling Las Vegas and Portland and ranking well above most major markets.