These 12 States Sold More Than $1 Billion in Cannabis in August (With Chart)

Twelve adult-use cannabis states have reported their dispensaries’ sales totals for August 2023, with these markets accounting for more than $1 billion in licensed transactions. The other eight states with adult-use retail programs have yet to report their most recent figures.

Headlining the dozen markets that promptly publish their sales figures, Michigan closed the books on yet another $276 million month as the nation’s second largest cannabis retail market. California, which averaged $361.6 million in monthly sales through the first half of the year, reports its sales figures on a quarterly basis.

Cannabis Business Times

While Michigan’s nearly $276.3 million in total sales—including more than $270.6 million for adult use and $5.6 million for medical—in August was about a half million shy of the state’s all-time record of $276.8 million from the previous month, demand for flower increased slightly as prices fell slightly, according to the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

Michigan dispensaries sold more than 83,800 pounds of adult-use flower in August, a 5% increase over the previous month, while the average cost per ounce for adult-use flower dropped from $98.65 in July to $94.16 in August.

Meanwhile, Illinois ($165.7 million), Massachusetts ($158 million) and Missouri ($119 million) also reported nine-figure sales for August.

Illinois was just shy of its yearly high of $166.9 million from July, as the state’s retailers are projected to record more than $1.9 billion in total sales for the year for a modest 1% increase over 2022 sales, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. 

Massachusetts set a monthly record in August, eclipsing a market from July 2022, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. Massachusetts is on pace to repeat 2022’s yearly total of roughly $1.75 billion.

And Missouri sales were down slightly (3.4%) in August compared to July, but this minor dip is a factor of fading medical sales, according to data from the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services.

In March, Missouri’s first full month of adult-use sales following a Feb. 3, 2023, program launch, medical sales accounted for $32.7 million, or roughly 26% of the overall market. Since then, medical sales have decreased roughly 33% to 22 million in August, accounting for roughly 18% of the overall market for the month.

Joining Massachusetts with record-breaking sales in August were Maryland ($91.4 million), New Mexico ($48.2 million), Montana ($28.7 million), Connecticut ($24.9 million), Maine ($21.6), New York ($17.6 million) and Rhode Island ($9.7 million).

Editor’s note: Maine and New York sales include adult-use transactions only, as medical cannabis figures are not available from these states.

Maryland, which launched adult-use sales July 1, 2023, has hit the ground running at a billion-dollar annual pace, according to data from the Maryland Cannabis Administration. This quick rollout is a factor of medical operators receiving first-mover advantage in the expanded marketplace. Medical sales represented 42% of the overall market during July and August.

New Mexico and Montana, which launched adult-use programs in April 2022 and January 2022, respectively, have two of the best per-capita sales runs in the nation so far this year, according to Cannabis Business Times research.

With roughly 1.1 million residents, Montana is on pace for $280 in total cannabis sales per capita in 2023, bested only by Michigan’s $296 per-capita projection.

And with a population of roughly 2.1 million, New Mexico is on pace for $260 in total cannabis sales per capita in 2023, which ranks fifth in the nation and just behind Colorado ($269) and Nevada ($266).

RELATED: New Mexico, Montana Continue Breaking Cannabis Sales Records; Among Best Performing Markets in Nation

Both Connecticut, which launched adult-use sales in January 2023, and Rhode Island, which launched adult-use sales in December 2022, remain on upward trends in recent months.

And New York, where state regulators have struggled to roll out an accessible adult-use cannabis market since launching sales in December 2022, experienced sales spikes in July ($16.8 million) and August ($17.6 million), according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management. The combined $34.4 million in sales for these two months outperformed the $31.7 million reported during the entire first six months of the year.

Among the eight adult-use states that have yet to report sales figures for August are some of the biggest markets in the nation, including California, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Nevada and New Jersey.