Cannabis Sales In Maryland Top $87M In First Month Of Adult-Use Sales, Shattering Expectations

Maryland’s cannabis users collectively spent a whopping $87.43 million on weed during the state’s first full month of recreational sales. Those who are keeping score sat that comes out to some $2.8 million per day.

During just the first seven days after legal cannabis sales got underway on July 1, licensed shops raked in $20.9 million in weed products and they've been going strong ever since.

The amount exceeds other East Coast states by a long shot. New Jersey sold some $24 million in July and New York, another potentially huge market, is still struggling with getting retail shops licensed and dealing with the thousands of illicit shops. 

Cannabis Retailers Are Delighted

“We’re happy about it,” said BJ Carretta, senior VP of marketing for TerrAscend TRSSF, which operates several shops in Maryland.

What's not to like? The Maryland Cannabis Administration anticipates the industry will reap $600 million in retail sales during the first year of adult-use cannabis legalization.

Why Is Maryland So Successful?

Voters approved marijuana legalization in last November's midterms and launched retail sales a remarkable eight months later.

House Delegate C.T. Wilson said lawmakers were keen to set up the new industry as quickly as possible so as to avoid the issues facing other states like New York and California, such as runaway illicit markets and lack of licenses.

Maryland also purposely set cannabis taxes at 9%, which allows legal weed prices to stay low and remain competitive. 

Industry leaders concur that the launch of the recreational retail market went smoothly as Maryland regulators adeptly avoided the bureaucratice pitfalls other states have encountered. For example, Maryland created a hybrid license structure that enabled existing medical cannabis growers, processors and dispensaries to move almost seamlessly into recreational cannabis. 

“Maryland has been a great success so far,” said Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf Holdings CURLF, which operates four dispensaries Maryland. 

Darin said Curaleaf saw almost three times more customers in July than in June when the company sold medical marijuana products.

“It’s certainly more than doubled what it was before,” Darin said. “We continue to see an increase that’s maybe not triple, but getting closer to that.”