Massachusetts Adult-Use Cannabis Retailers Eclipse $3 Billion in Sales

Shoppers have spent more than $3 billion at 216 licensed Massachusetts adult-use cannabis dispensaries and 11 delivery businesses since sales first launched on Nov. 20, 2018.

The first state east of the Mississippi River to establish a commercial adult-use retail program, Massachusetts first joined the likes of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington in the billion-dollar sales club in October 2020, according to data from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission’s open data platform.

It took Massachusetts adult-use retailers another 10 months to hit the $2-billion benchmark in August 2021. Since then, 54 more adult-use dispensaries and five more adult-use couriers opened for business to help push the cumulative total past $3 billion, according to a CCC press release. 

“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,” Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said in the release. “I’m proud our staff continue to work diligently to ensure applicants move through our licensing process efficiently, 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.”

The $3-billion milestone comes on the heels of Massachusetts retailers generating a total of $5,986,186 on April 20, 2022, representing a 41.7% increase from last year’s roughly $4.2 million in 4/20 sales, according to CCC.

In addition, adult-use cannabis establishments generated more than $1.3 billion in adult-use sales 2021—the first time the state surpassed $1 billion in gross sales in a calendar year.

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While the state recorded $122.2 million in sales for April 2022, representing a 14.6% increase from the $106.7 million in sales from last April, month-by-month figures have leveled off from last year’s peak of $130.4 million in December sales.

With $523.3 million in 2022 sales through mid-May, Massachusetts is on pace to hit $1.4 billion in adult sales this year.