Connecticut recreational marijuana sales reached a record-high in May. Purchases in the adult market exceeded those for medical cannabis, the first time that has happened since adult-use retail outlets opened in January.
The Department of Consumer Protection of the state published its May sales figures on Monday. It showed that $11.5 million was spent in purchases of marijuana for adult use and $11.2 in medical cannabis, for a combined total of $22.7 million.
In May, recreational marijuana sales surpassed medical cannabis transactions for the first time. Since retailers opened, monthly adult-use marijuana sales have more than tripled.
In the latest figures, the recreational marijuana sales were higher than the medical marijuana sales. However, more items were purchased in medical dispensaries (312,758) as compared to adult use retailers (292,054). The average price of medical marijuana was $35.86 compared to $39.47 in the recreational market.
DCP stated that the preliminary data did not include the taxes collected on adult-use transactions at the point of sales. The department will review the data further. Medical marijuana patients don’t pay tax on their medicine.
The department said that adults who consume cannabis should do so responsibly. This includes storing the products in their original packaging and keeping them out of reach of pets and children.
Connecticut appears to be experiencing the same commercial trends as other states after legalization. The medical cannabis market is gradually shrinking, while the adult-use system grows and matures.
Connecticut reported that people spent around $22 millions on marijuana in March. However, medical cannabis was the main driver.
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Connecticut legislators sent a budget to the governor recently that included provisions that would provide state-level relief for licensed marijuana businesses who are currently not allowed to make federal deductions due to an Internal Revenue Service code (IRS) known as 280E.
A separate cannabis omnibus law was also sent to the Governor. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, introduced a bill last week that includes a number of reforms. These include the creation of off-site permits for marijuana retailers and the restriction of intoxicating hemp products.
Connecticut’s House of Representatives passed a bill in the last month that builds on the state’s legalization of marijuana and expungements, by requiring courts reduce sentences or dismiss charges when a wider variety of cannabis-related charges are committed and, therefore, release those who are currently imprisoned on these charges.
Last month, the House passed a bill that would decriminalize possessing psilocybin mushroom.
The Senate did not take up either of these bills before the end of last week’s legislative session.
Lamont also announced that in January, the state had cleared almost 43,000 records of marijuana-related convictions. In 2021 , he passed legalization legislation which empowered the state government in order to facilitate mass cannabis convictions relief.
In January , the state launched a website that gives residents information on the status of their cannabis records. It also provides guidance to those who have older convictions for cannabis that were not automatically erased by the courts.
Lamont is optimistic about the adult-use market launched by at the start of the year. He believes it will reduce illicit sales.
He joked about his concern for the cannabis industry’s rollout, which was finding a spot in the line at a dispensary. He wasn’t serious but he had previously not ruled out the idea participating in the legal market.
Photo by WeedPornDaily.
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