Massachusetts’ 2022 adult-use cannabis sales are up big compared to the first five months of 2021, but May figures represent a seasonal plateau in the state market.
Adult-use retailers reported just more than $120 million in May 2022 sales, bringing the state’s yearly total to $585.6 million, representing a 20.7% increase from the $485.2 million in sales during the same timeframe in 2021, according to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s (CCC) open data platform.
But the current retail market has remained stagnant for three months now: May’s $120 million in adult-use sales is a slight dip from March, $120.3 million, and April, $122.2 million. Year-over-year, May 2022 sales represent a 9.3% increase from May 2021.
The three-month plateau comes after Massachusetts retailers experienced a $10-million sales spike from February to March.
The recent flatline somewhat mirrors last year’s seasonal trend. After a $21-million uptick from February to March 2021, sales rose slightly in April, May and June, before another uptick—a $17-million surge to $127.4 million in July 2021—the state’s highest grossing month last year.
Overall, Massachusetts adult-use retailers have recorded roughly $3.1 billion since the state first launched commercial sales in November 2018.
RELATED: Massachusetts Adult-Use Cannabis Retailers Eclipse $3 Billion in Sales
But that $3-billion benchmark—reached last month—comes at a time when the average retail price per ounce for dried flower continues to dip toward an all-time low.
The average adult-use flower price per ounce was $312.78 in May 2022, a 21.3% decrease from the $397.48 average cost per ounce in May 2021, according to CCC.
Only in April 2020, during the onset of COVID-19, was the average cost lower: $276.22 per ounce.
