Maryland Rings Up $10.4 Million in Cannabis Sales on Opening Weekend of Legalization

Maryland's adult-use cannabis sales are off and running in one of the quicker rollouts among its legalization peers in the U.S.

Ninety-four of the state’s roughly 100 existing medical cannabis dispensaries converted to adult-use retail operations for opening day on Saturday, July 1. These 94 stores combined for nearly $3.6 million in adult-use and more than $900,000 in medical sales that day, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA).

For the three-day weekend, Maryland’s licensed retailers sold more than $10.4 million in cannabis—from both the adult-use and medical markets—with roughly 70% of sales coming from Saturday and Sunday's adult-use transactions. This compares to roughly $4 million in medical-only sales from the three-day weekend leading into 2022’s American holiday.

The strong sales launch comes as many of the world’s largest publicly traded cannabis companies operate multiple dispensaries in Maryland, including Ascend Wellness, Columbia Care, Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, TerrAscend, Trulieve and Verano.

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Operators like Ascend Wellness and TerrAscend just recently began acquiring retail facilities ahead of the adult-use launch, with the state capping the number of dispensaries to four for each licensee. Ascend acquired four stores in late April from Devi Holdings Inc. and rebranded them ahead of the adult-use rollout.

“Saturday will be a historic day in Maryland, and Ascend is thrilled to participate by launching adult-use sales across our four dispensary locations,” Vince Bozman, Ascend’s regional retail vice president, said ahead of the launch. “We are excited to serve all Maryland’s cannabis consumers and further deepen our relationships within each community.”

In addition to the 94 retailers, there are 42 growers and processors licensed to cultivate and manufacture cannabis for adult-use consumers as of July 1 in Maryland, according to MCA. Columbia Care, for example, operates more than 50,000 square feet of cultivation and production space in Frederick.

“The start of adult-use sales in Maryland is a truly momentous occasion for our customers and for the industry as a whole,” said Jesse Channon, Columbia Care’s chief growth officer. “We continue to see some states taking immediate action on ballot initiatives across the country and working diligently to put a framework together to build a broader, safer and more inclusive cannabis marketplace with the introduction of adult-use sales. This swift action, and inclusion of existing operators who understand the landscape, shows a commitment from state leaders to help connect the power of the cannabis plant to those who need and want it.”

With 6.2 million residents—and the swift rollout of an adult-use program following voter approval of a constitutional amendment in November—Maryland has become one of the most attractive East Coast markets for companies to expand their footprints and capitalize.

Not only does Maryland border Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, none of which have adult-use cannabis sales, but its regulations have provided residents and adult tourists quick and widespread accessibility to regulated and tested products. While Delaware and Virginia have legalized adult-use cannabis, they have yet to launch commercial retail programs.

In New York, for example, which launched adult-use sales in December, just 11 licensed storefronts have opened in the first six months with existing medical operators shut out of the market for the time being. This approach led to roughly $16.5 million in total adult-use sales though the first four months of the program.

Maryland’s adult-use sales will likely eclipse that mark in the first week. With projections of $600 million in adult-use sales for the first 12 months, as reported by the Washington Post, Maryland could become a top-10 market among 20 states to roll out adult-use sales thus far in the U.S.

Leading into the adult-use sales launch, Maryland had one of the strongest medical cannabis programs in the nation with more than 163,000 certified patients. In 2022, Maryland’s medical cannabis dispensaries sold more than $510 million in cannabis, averaging $42.5 million per month in sales, according to the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission.

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