Chart of Massachusetts cannabis sales
January 30, 2023
Mass. cannabis sales hit record $1.8B in 2022, surpass $5B total
PHOTO | ZACHARY COMEAU
Stephen Mandile, an Iraq War veteran and medical marijuana advocate from Uxbridge, makes the first legal purchase of recreational marijuana on Nov. 20, 2018 at Cultivate in Leicester. Mandile was elected to the Uxbridge Select Board in 2019, while Cultivate has since been purchased by multi-state cannabis giant Cresco Labs and rebranded as Sunnyside.
By Kevin Koczwara
Legal sales of marijuana in Massachusetts hit a new record in 2022, the fourth full year of adult-use cannabis sales in the state.
Combining both adult-use and medical marijuana, sales hit $1.76 billion last year, besting the record set in 2021 of $1.64 billion, according to data from the state regulatory body Cannabis Control Commission.
CCC announced on Friday sales of adult-use marijuana surpassed $4 billion in gross sales since Nov. 20, 2018, when the first adult-use retail stores opened in the state.
“Massachusetts has established itself with a robust cannabis market, and many states are looking to us as they are looking to enter into the space,” said Kimberly Roy, commissioner of Cannabis Control Commission.
When combined with medical sales, total legal cannabis in Massachusetts have actually surpassed $5 billion, according to CCC data. The agency’s data on both adult-use and medical sales is slightly limited, though; it has tracked all adult-use sales since they began legally in November 2018, but its tracking of medical sales started that same month even though medical sales were first legalized in Massachusetts in 2012. Until the CCC was formed, the regulation of medical marijuana sales was under the purview of the Department of Public Health.
When strictly looking at the progression of sales of adult-use marijuana, total revenue passed $3 billion on May 18, 2022. In less than a year, total sales added another $1 billion, showing the rate of increase in sales, even as the market becomes more competitive.
“Cannabis continues to be an economic driver in Massachusetts,” Roy said.
In 2022, 71 marijuana retailers opened in Massachusetts. Another four delivery services and three couriers also opened.
To date, the highest selling product is bud, which has accounted for $1.7 billion in sales since 2018. December saw the price of flower drop to its lowest price ever being legalized at $215 per ounce.
While adult-use Marijunana has become more commonplace, the market has dictated a need for more research. Roy said the science of cannabis is the next chapter for the industry in the state.
“There is unlimited potential around research,” Roy said. “Folks are starting to enter it. The future in cannabis will rely on research, especially on the medical side. A tremendous opportunity.”
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