Arizona Cannabis Sales Approach Nearly $1 Billion In 2022 Despite August Downturn

Arizona voters approved recreational marijuana in 2020 with the passage of Proposition 207, the Arizona Smart and Safe Act. The medical marijuana market began in 2012, following the passage of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Law in 2010.

State Marijuana Sales In 2022

According to a new report from the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), the state’s cannabis marketplace “suffered a loss of nearly $7 million in August, as both medical marijuana and adult-use recreational sales dropped about $3.5 million each from the previous month.”

However, the losses were offset as ADOR revised July’s totals upward by almost $7 million.

Despite the overall reduction, "total cannabis sales passed the $980 million mark in the first eight months of 2022 and will likely approach, if not eclipse, 2021’s $1.4 billion before the year ends," according to ADOR's report.

Background

In October 2021, medical sales were around $65. 1 million and recreational sales were $65.6 million. Since then, “programs have charted dramatically different trajectories, with the recreational program now outperforming medical sales by more than $40 million,” said the AZ Mirror.

In August, total tax revenue for both, medical and adult-use sales, was estimated at about $20.5 million, with about $11.9 million from the 16% marijuana excise levied on recreational sales.

"From August to September, the number of cardholders in the state fell from 144,678 to 136,010. In June, the number of active cardholders was 191,682," reads the September Arizona Department of Health Services report, which monthly informs on the medical marijuana program that includes sales by the pound as well as the number of qualifying patients.

"Since January, when patients purchased 9,273 pounds through nearly 600,000 transactions, the number of pounds of medical marijuana sold through September has nearly halved to 5,061 pounds."

In related news, federal sentencing data reported that Arizona could be among the states that benefit most from President Joe Biden's pardons of more than 6,500 people who were convicted in federal court of simple marijuana possession charges.

Get your daily dose of cannabis news on Benzinga Cannabis. Don’t miss out on any important developments in the industry.

Photo: Courtesy Of Shutterstock // Edited by Benzinga