In December, more than half a dozen U.S. States where marijuana is legal surpassed previous monthly sales records. Many relatively new adult-use markets are continuing to grow and American consumers in general have increased their holiday spending.
The majority of monthly sales records are in states which have legalized marijuana recently. As a result, they still experience the growth of a market in its early stages. Connecticut, which began sales one year ago, has set monthly sales records in every month since 2023. Maryland set sales records in every month last year even though the retail stores opened only in July.
Even in Illinois, where adult-use sales have been going on for three years, the numbers were still up, with a jump of nearly $15 million compared to a month ago. Massachusetts retailers have also reached a new high after opening their doors in 2018. They increased by $11.5 million over the previous month. Even in mature markets, December is a good month for sales. Michigan, where sales began in 2019, experienced a surge in sales that ended a record-breaking $3 billion year.
The recreational marijuana market in Missouri, which is less than a year old, has plateaued. Its figures have only increased slightly in the past year since retailers opened in February.
In almost all states, the rise in adult-use cannabis sales has coincided with the decline in medical marijuana sales, as many patients are turning to recreational retailers for convenience, product selection, or price, or to avoid state registration.
The marijuana market in the United States is expected to grow as new states are brought online and as younger systems mature. Last month, the multinational investment firm TD Cowen announced that it projected legal cannabis sales would reach $37 billion by 2027. This is up from $29 billion it estimated in 2023. The growth in legal cannabis sales is expected to be fueled by the substitution of alcohol with cannabis, especially among young adults.
Connecticut
In Connecticut, recreational cannabis sales began in January 2023. In May, medical marijuana sales had been slowed down over the year. Adult-use purchases had already surpassed them. The combined sales of recreational and medical marijuana in 2023 totaled more than $274 million.
In December, cannabis products for adult use were sold at a little over $17.1m. This continued a streak of consecutive monthly sales records. Medical marijuana sales topped $10m. According to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, the combined sales of roughly $27.5 millions in the two markets marked the highest monthly sales total ever recorded.
In a recent statement, DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli stated that “One year ago the state of Connecticut created an entirely new market. It opened up jobs, opportunities, and provided a safe way for adults who wanted to buy cannabis.” Since then, many businesses have opened up and more are expected to do so. We are proud of our agency’s work over the last year and look forward to growth, fair regulations, collaboration with sister agencies, as well as thoughtful problem-solving in the future.
Illinois
In Illinois, December is usually a good month for marijuana sales. 2023 was no different. Adult-use receipts increased by nearly $15 million between November and December after a period of fluctuating sales in the first half of the year.
Between recreational and medical cannabis markets, Illinois sales reached just under 2 billion in 2023.
The adult-use marijuana sales in December not only broke records for the recreational market, but also for combined record sales between adult-use markets and medical marijuana markets – even though medical sales have been slowly decreasing over recent years.
According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, recreational marijuana sales will generate $417.6 millions in tax revenue in 2023.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, said the following in a Thursday press release announcing fiscal data. “Our work continues to repair the past damage while providing opportunities for all communities in the state, and creating a prosperous future.”
Maryland
Maryland’s recreational marijuana retailers will sell more than $330 millions in 2023 after the opening of legal cannabis sales to adult users on July 1,. This contribution will contribute to the nearly $790,000,000 worth of sales total for the year.
In December, recreational marijuana sales, which have been setting new records each month since the adult-use market opened, totaled more than $61.5 Million, while medical marijuana sales were just under $35 Million. This is an increase of over a million dollars compared to the previous month, but still significantly less than the medical marijuana sales before the opening of the adult-use stores.
Maryland reported that it collected more than $12 Million in marijuana taxes in the first quarter after legal cannabis sales for adults.
Gov. Wes Moore (D), at the time, said that the “strong revenue” so far “reflects the strength of Maryland’s newly-formed adult recreational cannabis industry,” and that the money was “critical” for supporting social equity as well as economic growth which are “central” to the values of his administration.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts marijuana retailers have sold $158.7 millions worth of legal cannabis in December. This brings the total sales recorded for 2023 by the state to almost $1.8 billion. The record-breaking December sales were driven by the highest ever amount of marijuana sold to adults. At $140.0 million, this was the largest monthly sale.
Adult-use retailers have seen sales of more than $5.54 Billion since they opened in 2018. The vast majority of marijuana sales are now recreational sales: In 2023, the adult-use sales accounted for more than 87 per cent ($1,57 billion) of the total.
Although medical marijuana is exempt from state tax, adult products are subject to a 10.75 per cent excise tax on top of the 6.25 per cent sales tax. Municipalities may add an additional 3 percent tax to those. Data from the state showed that for the first year in 2022, generated more tax revenue than alcohol.
Michigan
Michigan recorded more than $3 billion of purchases in 2023. The vast majority came from adult-use. The licensed businesses in Michigan sold a total of $279.9 millions during December. Around 99 percent (276.7 million dollars) of that total came from sales for recreational purposes.
Michigan voters approved the legalization of adult-use marijuana in 2018. Retailers will open within the year.
In November, officials reported that taxes from the sale of legal marijuana had grown by 49 percent over the previous year. This revenue exceeded the revenue generated from the sales of alcohol. The state of Michigan charges a 6 percent sales tax on marijuana sales, as well as an excise rate of 10 percent.
Officials said that in October 2023, marijuana excise taxes generated $52.4 million, more than any other source of tax revenue, including sales and use tax, income tax, insurance tax, and tobacco tax.
Missouri
Missouri began adult-use marijuana sale in February last year. Sales started immediately at around $100 million per month. In 2023, the combined sales of medical and recreational cannabis retailers will exceed $1.3 billion.
While the medical marijuana market has seen a significant decline since the opening of adult-use, the recreational market has slowly increased. Adult-use sales reached a new record of $106.5 million in December. However, total sales fell slightly from the record set in February.
Officials are working on changes to the criminal system as the state nears the first anniversary of the legalization of adult-use marijuana. In a letter sent to lawmakers earlier this month, the state courts requested an additional $3.7million for expunging old cannabis-related criminal record. They noted that many older records were not digitized, and required manual processing. The courts received an initial $4.2 million for the completion of the process.
The law has led to the deletion of over 100,000 marijuana cases from court files.
New Mexico
New Mexico’s legal marijuana sales jumped up to $50.5m in December. Adult-use retailers sold about $37.5m and medical dispensaries added another $13m. This was a record for both combined markets and recreational sales.
Since April 2022 when adult-use marijuana shops opened, there have been $608.4 millions in purchases. Medical sales account for approximately $307.5 million.
The sales increase in December was largely due to higher purchases. The average medical transaction came in at under $52, and the average sale for adult use at around $42.50. In the last two months, the average transaction price has increased in both markets after it reached its lowest point ever in October.
The publicly available data on sales does not indicate whether the higher averages reflect more expensive products, or more consumers and patients purchasing more.
A state report on labor released in June last year revealed that workers in the marijuana industry of New Mexico earn more than they did at their previous jobs .
Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, December 2023 saw nearly $7.8 Million in purchases of adult-use marijuana– a record monthly figure, and more than twice that of December 2020 the first month in which legal sales were allowed. In the last year, the recreational sales in Rhode Island have steadily increased while medical sales have decreased.
The growth of adult-use sales made up for the decline in medical sales. December’s combined sales came in at $10,2 million, surpassing the previous record set in august.
In 2023, the Ocean State saw more than 100 million dollars in legal marijuana sales, with roughly two-thirds of those purchases coming from adult-use customers.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee celebrated the first year of adult-use sales in Rhode Island, which ended at the end November. In that time period, the total sales were $105.0 million. Of this, almost $70 millions came from adult-use sales.
He said, “A year after adult-use cannabis was legalized in Rhode Island we are proud of our careful execution which defined our entry into the industry.” This success is a growing opportunity not only for the economy of Rhode Island, but also for nearly 70 licensed growers, processors and manufacturers who are essential to the local cannabis supply chain.
The post Marijuana sales in multiple states across the country will break records by 2023 first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
