The short answer depends on whether you mean legal or illegal production. For legal cannabis sales, the United States dominates globally, with California alone generating over $4.6 billion in 2024. For total cultivation area, including illicit production, Morocco and Afghanistan remain two of the largest producers on Earth. Here’s a closer look at where cannabis grows in the biggest quantities and why those regions lead.
Top U.S. States by Cannabis Sales
California is far and away the largest legal cannabis market in the United States. In 2024, the state recorded roughly $4.66 billion in cannabis sales, more than 50% higher than the second-place state. The top five states by sales volume:
- California: $4.66 billion
- Michigan: $3.03 billion
- Illinois: $2.01 billion
- Massachusetts: $1.67 billion
- Missouri: $1.46 billion
California’s lead comes from a combination of factors: a massive consumer base, decades of established cultivation expertise (especially in regions like the Emerald Triangle in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties), and a climate that supports year-round outdoor growing. Michigan’s rapid climb to second place reflects its relatively low licensing barriers and strong consumer demand across the Midwest. Missouri is a notable newcomer, having only launched adult-use sales in early 2023 yet already cracking the top five nationally.
Morocco: The World’s Hashish Capital
Morocco has been one of the world’s largest cannabis producers for decades. The United Nations estimates that roughly 47,000 hectares in the country’s northern Rif Mountains are devoted to cannabis cultivation. That figure is actually down by about two-thirds from 2003 levels, following government crackdowns, but it still represents an enormous footprint.
Most Moroccan cannabis is processed into hashish (compressed resin) and smuggled into Europe. In 2024, Morocco reported its first legal cannabis harvest of 294 metric tons, produced by 32 cooperatives involving 430 farmers across 277 hectares in the Rif regions of Al Houceima, Taounat, and Chefchaouen. The country is now trying to transition part of its illicit market into a regulated industry, though legal production covers only a tiny fraction of the total cultivation area so far.
Afghanistan and Central Asia
Afghanistan is one of the world’s top producers of cannabis resin, better known as hashish. The plant thrives in the country’s arid climate, and yields are remarkably high at an estimated 145 kilograms of resin per hectare. That translates to an estimated 1,500 to 3,500 tons of hashish per year, making Afghanistan a major supplier to markets across South Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.
Unlike Morocco, where there’s a clear geographic concentration in the Rif, Afghan cannabis cultivation is more dispersed across multiple provinces. The crop historically plays a secondary economic role to opium poppy farming. A 2009 UN estimate valued Afghan cannabis resin production at $39 to $94 million at the farm gate, roughly 10 to 20 percent of opium’s value. That ratio has likely shifted since the Taliban’s opium ban in recent years, potentially making cannabis a more attractive crop for farmers.
Other Major Growing Regions
Beyond the U.S., Morocco, and Afghanistan, several other countries produce cannabis at significant scale. Mexico and Colombia have long histories of large-scale cultivation for export, though exact production numbers are difficult to verify. Paraguay is considered the largest cannabis producer in South America, supplying much of the Brazilian and Argentine markets. In southern Africa, countries like Lesotho, Eswatini, and South Africa grow substantial amounts, with Lesotho becoming one of the first African nations to issue licenses for legal medicinal cannabis.
India, particularly the northern states near the Himalayas, has traditional growing regions where cannabis and hashish production date back centuries. Thailand legalized cannabis in 2022, sparking rapid growth in both cultivation and cannabis tourism before tightening regulations again.
Industrial Hemp Is a Different Story
It’s worth separating high-THC cannabis (marijuana) from industrial hemp, which contains 0.3% THC or less and is grown for fiber, seeds, and oils rather than recreational or medicinal use. The European Union is the world’s leading hemp-growing region, with cultivated area jumping from about 20,500 hectares in 2015 to 33,000 hectares in 2022. France alone accounts for more than 60% of EU hemp production, followed by Germany at 17% and the Netherlands at 5%. China is also a massive hemp producer, though reliable acreage data is harder to come by. Canada rounds out the list of top hemp-growing nations.
Hemp and marijuana are the same species, but they’re regulated completely differently. Hemp grown under EU agricultural policy cannot exceed 0.3% THC, making it useless as a drug but valuable for textiles, building materials, and food products.
Why These Regions Dominate
Cannabis is a resilient plant that can grow almost anywhere between 21° and 55° latitude in both hemispheres, plus the intertropical zone near the equator. But the regions that produce the most share a few common traits.
Climate matters enormously for outdoor cultivation. Cannabis thrives with long sunny days, moderate to warm temperatures, and relatively low humidity during flowering. California’s Mediterranean climate, Morocco’s dry mountain air, and Afghanistan’s arid terrain all fit this profile well. In tropical zones closer to the equator, cannabis can technically be grown year-round, though the consistent 12-hour light cycles near the equator can limit plant size for certain varieties.
At higher latitudes (closer to 55° north or south), the growing season gets shorter and cooler, which can make it difficult for slower-maturing strains to finish before frost. This is one reason why large-scale outdoor production concentrates in the 25° to 40° latitude band, and why northern producers like Michigan and Massachusetts rely more heavily on indoor and greenhouse cultivation.
Economics and regulation are equally important. California produces so much because it has a legal framework, an established grower community, and 39 million potential customers. Morocco produces so much because the Rif Mountains have poor soil for most other agriculture, making cannabis one of the few profitable crops for local farmers. Afghanistan produces so much because instability has limited enforcement and alternative livelihoods. In every case, the answer to “where is weed grown the most” comes down to where the climate cooperates and the economics make sense.