Business
Connecticut Sets Another Marijuana Sales Record In September, With Monthly Purchases Exceeding $25 Million For First Time
Connecticut saw yet another month of record-breaking marijuana sales in September, with medical and recreational purchases exceeding $25 million for the first time, new state data published on Tuesday shows.
Adult-use cannabis sales hit $14,388,751 last month—the ninth month in a row of record-topping recreational marijuana purchases since the market launched in January. Medical cannabis sales totaled $10,814,987.
All told in September, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) reported $25,203,738 in legal cannabis purchases, which is up about $250,000 from August.
Adult consumers bought 376,035 total cannabis products, while patients purchased 284,116 medical marijuana items. At the same time, the cost of recreational cannabis has gradually declined since the market opened, with the average product price amounting to $38.37 last month.
Just over half (52 percent) of marijuana purchased last month was useable cannabis (or flower). Vapes accounted for 30 percent of sales, followed by edibles at 11 percent.
“The preliminary data does not include taxes collected at the point of sale on adult-use transactions and is subject to further review by the department,” DCP said. “Medical marijuana patients do not pay taxes on the purchase of their medicine.”
“Adults who choose to consume cannabis are reminded to do so responsibly, including storing cannabis products in their original packaging, locked up and out of reach of children and pets,” the department added.
So far, it appears that Connecticut is experiencing the same type of commercial trends that other states have seen after enacting legalization, with the medical cannabis market gradually thinning as the adult-use system matures and expands.
Meanwhile, as of July 1, Connecticut adults 21 and older can now grow their own marijuana plants for personal use—one of the latest provisions of the state’s cannabis legalization law to take effect.
Ahead of that law becoming effective, DCP published a notice to remind the public about the policy change, detailing the rules and encouraging people who choose to participate to cultivate cannabis “responsibly.”
Also, Connecticut officials recently announced they are rolling out a new loan program aimed at supporting social equity marijuana businesses, providing financial assistance to help people who’ve been disproportionately impacted by prohibition expand operations in the legal industry.
Connecticut is far from the only states that saw record-breaking marijuana sales in recent months.
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For example, New Mexico’s legal marijuana retailers sold more than $47 million of combined adult-use and medical marijuana products in September, according to data from the state Regulation & Licensing Department (RLD).
Illinois marijuana shops sold nearly 3.7 million adult-use cannabis products in September, That’s more products than during any other month since recreational sales launched in January 2020, amounting to $139.5 million in total sales.
In Maryland, the state reported more than $90.7 million worth of marijuana products were sold in September, the bulk of which was driven by record-high monthly sales to adult-use consumers. Medical cannabis purchases, meanwhile, have dipped slightly following the opening of adult-use stores in July.
August was also a record-setting month in Rhode Island, which sold its highest amount of cannabis for the fourth consecutive month, notching $9.7 in monthly receipts.
Purchases of adult-use cannabis in Montana hit a monthly record in August, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Division.
In Maine, marijuana sales similarly reached a record high in August, with nearly $22 million worth of purchases.
Massachusetts retailers have now sold more than $5 billion in adult-use marijuana since the state’s recreational market launched five years ago, the state reported last month. Sales reached $139.3 million in August alone, with the year-to-date total at $1.05 billion within the first eight months of 2023.
Michigan marijuana sales reached yet another record high in July, with nearly $277 million worth of cannabis sold.
Missouri retailers have been selling about $4 million worth of marijuana per day on average since the state’s adult-use market opened up in February—and the state saw a record $121.2 million in cannabis purchases in June.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its first report on state-level marijuana tax revenue data following what the agency called “a complete canvass of all state agencies” going back to July 2021. In the 18-month period between then and the end of 2022, the data show, states collected more than $5.7 billion from licensed cannabis sales.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
