Massachusetts Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Officially Exceed $3 Billion, State Reports

Massachusetts adult-use marijuana sales have officially surpassed $3 billion since the market launched in 2018, state officials reported on Wednesday.

With 216 cannabis retailers and 11 delivery businesses operating across the commonwealth, the total gross sales for recreational marijuana reached $3,001,846,490 as of May 14.

The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) noted that it’s only been eight months since the state reported that sales had exceeded $2 billion.

Via CCC.

“These sales figures illustrate the steady growth Massachusetts residents expected when they voted to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2016, and the Commission was appointed in 2017,” CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins said in a press release.

“I’m proud our staff continue to work diligently to ensure applicants move through our licensing process efficiently,” Collins said. “Marijuana Establishments operate within a safe, accessible, and effective regulated market, and our work to ensure equity in the industry and the agency remains front and center.”

Today, @MA_Cannabis announced adult-use Marijuana Establishments in MA surpassed $3 billion in gross sales, according to the information that licensees report in the state’s mandatory seed-to-sale tracking system.

Learn more: https://t.co/B2UuNZsfng

— Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (@MA_Cannabis) May 18, 2022

This year’s cannabis holiday known as 4/20 saw $5,986,186 in marijuana sales on that one day alone, which is more than $1 million more compared to April 20 of last year, CCC said. Massachusetts marijuana tax revenue is now also exceeding that being generated from alcohol sales.

Further, the agency said that in 2021, there were $1,331,246,109 in cannabis purchases at the state’s 194 retailers at the time. That year marketed the first time that “Massachusetts’ regulated cannabis industry surpassed $1 billion in gross sales in a single calendar year.”

Massachusetts isn’t the only state that’s seeing a cannabis economic boom.

Earlier this month, Michigan officials announced that the state broke a marijuana sales record in April, with nearly $200 million in cannabis purchases.

Illinois adult-use marijuana sales reached nearly $132 million in April, the second highest monthly total since the market launched in 2020 and another sign that the state’s industry is stabilizing following a slump at the beginning of this year.

Arizona cannabis sales reached a new record in its adult-use market in March, according to the state.

In Colorado, the state released sales data for March showing that marijuana purchases rebounded in March after a prolonged slump this year. However, sales are still down from 2021 levels.

Altogether, states that have legalized marijuana for adult use collectively generated more than $3.7 billion in tax revenue from recreational cannabis sales in 2021, according to a report from MPP.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.