Massachusetts adult-use cannabis: By the numbers

Hey, prohibitionists—do you like apples?

Because Massachusetts has done $2 billion in legal cannabis sales in the last three years. How do you like them apples?

But seriously—shout-out to how far Massachusetts has come. From a lackluster start to legalization on Nov. 8, 2016, to today’s all-singing, all-dancing beacon in the northeast.

Here’s Massachusetts legal cannabis—by the numbers.

Executive summary

Digging into the details

Massachusetts’ heavily state-controlled industry wasn’t built in a day. But it’s becoming a legal superpower supplying a large amount of legal cannabis:

• Day voters approved Question 4: November 8, 2016
• First day of legal sales: November 20, 2018
• Gross sales total since retailers opened: $2.05B (11/18 to today)
• Year to date retail sales: $886M (Jan. -end Aug. 2021)

Market penetration

Still, the vast majority of Massachusetts cannabis consumers will likely buy from the street until there are more stores.

• Population: 6.893 million
• Number of marijuana retailer final licenses: 170
• Final store licenses per capita: 1 store per 40,547 residents

Most popular product classes

Massachusetts’ newly legal smokers love their pre-rolls! The top cannabis product categories in Massachusetts are:

• buds—31%
• raw pre-rolls—28%
• edibles—19%
• vape products—13%
• concentrate—5%
• beverage—3%
• infused pre-rolls—1%

Cultivation warming up

Also slow-rolling—the emergence of legal cultivation in The Pilgrim State. The relatively few farms in existence have massive plant counts.

• Marijuana cultivator final licenses: 88
• Craft marijuana co-ops: 2
• Total plant count for Aug. 49.1M

Taxes, and typical consumer spending

And now for the most important question, how much are the taxes and what does stuff cost?

Adult-use marijuana is subject to:

• state sales tax—6.25%
• state excise tax—10.75%
• local option for cities or towns—up to 3%

A legal ounce is still pretty pricy, and most shoppers are just dabbling.

• monthly average cost per 1 ounce of adult-use cannabis: $397.11
• average spent per transaction: $41.32

What’s the law again?

Lastly, you can’t blame anyone for not knowing the specific letter of the law—like how much flower you can walk around with, or grow. It’s enough to stay lit pretty much every day; if that’s your thing.

• amount of flower legal to possess in public: 2 ounces
• number of plants legal to cultivate at home: 12

(Sources: Massachusetts Cannabis Control; Leafly)

David Downs

David Downs directs news and lifestyle coverage as the California Bureau Chief for Leafly.com. He’s written for WIRED, Rolling Stone and Billboard, and is the former cannabis editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the author of several cannabis books including ‘Marijuana Harvest’ by Ed Rosenthal and David Downs. He co-hosts The Hash podcast. TW: @davidrdowns | IG @daviddowns

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