Since Maryland\u2019s adult-use cannabis market launched in July of last year, licensed retailers have sold more than $1.1 billion worth of legal marijuana products, including more than $700 million to adult consumers and $400 million in medical marijuana.<\/p>\n
Last month alone, sales surpassed $95 million, with adult-use purchases making up more than two thirds of that amount ($67 million).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to the latest data from the Maryland Cannabis Administration, which Gov. Wes Moore (D) trumpeted in a press release on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur new adult-use cannabis market isn\u2019t only generating extraordinary economic activity \u2013 it\u2019s also helping us build new pathways to work, wages, and wealth for all,\u201d Moore said in a statement. \u201cMaking Maryland more competitive means ensuring that everyone can reap the benefits of Maryland\u2019s economic growth. This important milestone proves how our administration continually\u2014and repeatedly\u2014honors our deep commitment to that mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
The release also highlights other milestones during the past year of regulated cannabis, including establishing \u201ca first-in-the-nation state cannabis reference laboratory dedicated to cannabis oversight and managed by a state cannabis regulatory agency\u201d and opening \u201cthe first cannabis business licensing round in the nation that was reserved exclusively for social equity applicants.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state also collected more than $40 million in fees from licensed marijuana companies over the past year, the release says, which was funneled into the state\u2019s community reinvestment and repair fund. The fund, which receives 35 percent of state marijuana revenue, supports programs benefitting low-income communities and those most impacted by the criminalization of cannabis.<\/p>\n
Other highlights of the past year, the release<\/a> says, include establishing a cannabis workforce development program<\/a>, launching a statewide public health and safety campaign, creating an Office of Social Equity and publishing a data dashboard with information about the state marijuana industry.<\/p>\n \u201cI am proud of the efforts of the Cannabis Administration staff who worked in collaboration with our governmental and industry partners to implement a safe and equitable market in Maryland, while simultaneously building a new regulatory agency,\u201d Maryland Cannabis Administration Director Will Tilburg said in a statement. \u201cAs exciting as the past year has been, we expect the year ahead to be even more so, as new social equity businesses bring their passion and innovation to the Maryland market.\u201d<\/p>\n Audrey Johnson, executive director for the Office of Social Equity, said the achievements reflect \u201cthe dedication and hard work of\u00a0countless individuals who believe in the transformative power of equitable cannabis policies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur focus on social equity has paved the way for a more inclusive industry, and we remain committed to ensuring that all Marylanders benefit from this growing market,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Though the governor\u2019s press release includes monthly sales numbers for Maryland\u2019s medical and adult-use markets, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has not yet updated its data dashboard<\/a> with the latest information.<\/p>\n Officials at the state comptroller\u2019s office recently corrected cannabis tax revenue data due to a clerical error noticed late last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the first quarter of 2024, meanwhile, the state collected nearly $15 million in marijuana sales tax revenue<\/a>\u2014an increase of less than 0.7 percent compared to the previous quarter.<\/p>\n Moore also announced pardons of more than 175,000 state-level marijuana possession and paraphernalia convictions<\/a> last month, though he\u2019s since said there\u2019s still work to do to expunge cannabis records<\/a>. He\u2019s pledged to work with lawmakers to achieve the broader reform.<\/p>\n Aside from cannabis, the governor in May also signed\u00a0a pair of bills into law to establish a psychedelics task force<\/a>\u00a0that will study legal access to substances like psilocybin and DMT.<\/p>\n New Bipartisan Congressional Bill Would Expunge Federal Marijuana Records<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Maryland Sees More Than $1.1 Billion In Marijuana Sales During Legal Market\u2019s First Year<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Since Maryland\u2019s adult-use cannabis market launched in July of last year, licensed retailers have sold more than $1.1 billion worth of legal marijuana products, including more than $700 million to adult consumers and $400 million in medical marijuana. Last month alone, sales surpassed $95 million, with adult-use purchases making upContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76700,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76699\/revisions\/76700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Maryland Sees More Than .1 Billion In Marijuana Sales During Legal Market\u2019s First Year<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"