Since the 2018 launch of their adult-use cannabis market, Massachusetts marijuana sales just topped $2 billion, according to the Cannabis Control Commission. “At close of business on Tuesday, August 31, aggregate data recorded in Metrc by 165 Marijuana Retailers and three delivery businesses operating statewide reached $2,009,007,478 in gross sales,” the Commission announced in a press release today. Today also happens to be the Commission’s fourth birthday.
“This milestone speaks to the success of licensees that have interacted with the Commission from the application stage, maintained compliance with our strict regulations, and contribute every day to communities across the Commonwealth,” said Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins. “This number also underscores the entire agency’s tireless efforts, particularly those of our hardworking staff, to thoughtfully regulate a safe, accessible, and effective adult-use marketplace that keeps critical tenets of our mission – public health, public safety, and equity, among others – front of mind.”
Since the first two Massachusetts cannabis retailers began sales in 2018, 163 more were cleared to commence operations, and “Another 205 Marijuana Retailers with provisional or final license approval are completing the Commission’s inspection and compliance procedures,” the news release reported. Overall, the Commission has handed out a total of 908 various marijuana establishment licenses to businesses including cultivators, retailers, manufacturers, testing laboratories, marijuana couriers (a fancy way of saying cannabis delivery programs), and more.
According to Marijuana Moment, Massachusetts’ sales figures/trends are similar to those seen in other state-legal markets. Michigan, for example, raked in more than $171 million from cannabis transactions, breaking a state record this past July. California collected approximately $817 million in marijuana tax revenue over the 2020-2021 fiscal year, which is “55 percent more cannabis earnings for state coffers than was generated in the prior fiscal year,” the Moment wrote. As state after state sees staggeringly high and ever-increasing marijuana sales, many are making a connection between the number and the global pandemic, during which many states deemed cannabis businesses essential and allowed them to remain open.
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