Massachusetts cannabis dispensaries set a new annual sales record in 2023 at $1.56 billion, according to data from the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) outlined by Boston 25 News.
The year was capped off with the industry’s most lucrative month yet after licensed retailers sold $140.1 million worth of adult-use cannabis products in December, breaking the previous monthly sales record from August 2023. Regulators said the state is tracking 338 dispensaries and 21 cannabis delivery companies. Ultimately, annual cannabis sales increased last year by $78 million, or about 5%.
Despite the gains last year, the Massachusetts cannabis industry experienced a tumultuous 2023 following the sudden removal of CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien in September — who in turn sued the state treasurer over the decision. Then two more top CCC officials were suspended in December, which sent the agency into further disarray and prompted lawmakers to call for an investigation into the agency.
CCC Acting Chair Ava Concepcion said in the report that the state’s cannabis industry is “still a maturing market.”
“This continued growth confirms that Massachusetts’ regulated marijuana industry is still a maturing market,” said the acting CCC Chair Ava Concepcion.
“As more retailers and delivery licensees come online, flower prices start to stabilize, and the stigma surrounding cannabis slowly dissipates — legal, tested products are becoming more accessible, affordable, and approachable than ever before, and that’s reflected in the multiple sales records licensees broke in 2023.” — Concepcion, via Boston 25 News
Massachusetts voters approved cannabis legalization in 2016 and the state’s adult-use industry was launched in 2018. Sales have continued to grow each year and the state is on track to surpass more than $6 billion in total adult-use cannabis sales sometime this year.
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