Olga Yastremska and Leonid Yastremskiy | Adobe Stock
The Massachusetts adult-use cannabis retail market is still showing signs of growth in the early goings of its sixth year of legalization, although this growth has slowed drastically since a sales boom in 2020 and 2021.
The state’s retailers reported $391.2 million in adult-use sales and $49.8 million in medical cannabis sales during the first quarter of 2024, according to monthly data from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). The combined total of $441 million for the three-month period represents a 4% increase over the first quarter of 2023.
Nearly $154 million in combined sales for March 2024 represents the highest total for that specific month since adult-use sales launched in November 2018.
This comes after licensed retailers sold nearly $1.8 billion in cannabis in 2023, which represented a 1.8% increase (or $32 million) over 2022 sales. This growth came despite a shrinking medical market, which represented 12.6% of overall sales in 2023.
| Year | Adult-Use | Medical | Combined | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,556,826,393.87 | $225,630,069.78 | $1,792,456,463.65 | 1.8% |
| 2022 | $1,488,674,521.04 | $271,681,407.41 | $1,760,355,928.45 | 7.1% |
| 2021 | $1,332,327,979.67 | $312,088,169.94 | $1,644,416,149.61 | 69% |
| 2020 | $702,609,593.36 | $270,416,054.52 | $973,025,647.88 | 76% |
| 2019 | $433,096,256.80 | $120,715,928.25 | $553,812,185.05 | n/a |
| 2018 | $5,633,545.49 | $473,934,704.57 | $6,107,480.39 | n/a |
| Total | $5,519,168,290.23 | $1,674,466,334.47 | $6,730,173,855.03 | n/a |
Also, Massachusetts’ 2023 sales total represented the fourth-largest licensed retail market in the nation among states with adult-use legalization, bested only by California, Michigan and Illinois, according to government sales data from those states.
The hot start to 2024 sales came as the state’s average retail flower price fell to an all-time low of $5.32 per gram, or roughly $151 per ounce, in February, according to the CCC. This compares to an average flower price of $172 per ounce in 2023, $289 per ounce in 2022, and $391 per ounce in 2021, according to CCC data.
RELATED: How Much Did an Ounce of Cannabis Flower Cost in 2023?
Flower sales represent roughly 42% of Massachusetts’ cannabis market during a typical week of adult-use sales, according to the CCC, while vapes (19%), prerolls (16%), edibles (12%) and concentrates (5%) represent the other leading product categories.
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