The steady sales of legalized marijuana in Connecticut have been reported, with a recorded revenue of $21 million from both medical and recreational cannabis in the month of April.
On Wednesday, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection unveiled these figures, demonstrating that the recently initiated recreational market accounted for $10.2 million in April, while the medical cannabis market contributed $11.4 million.
The total sales of $21 million were just a tad lower than the previous month’s sales, where around $22 million in cannabis sales were reported for March.
In the recreational cannabis market, which kicked off in January, the $10.2 million sales for April marked a new record for the state.
The recreational market had prior sales figures of $9.5 million in March, $7 million in February, and $5.1 million in its first month, January.
Additional figures were also shared by the Department of Consumer Protection on Wednesday, which indicated that in April, 314,985 products were bought by medical cannabis patients, and 259,499 by recreational users.
The department noted that in April, the average product price was $36.51 for medical marijuana patients and $39.58 for recreational consumers.
As per the department:
The data was obtained from the state’s Seed-to-Sale Tracking System. The DCP does not project revenues, set sales targets, collect taxes, or regulate prices. The preliminary data does not include taxes collected at the point of sale on recreational transactions and may be revised following further departmental review. Medical marijuana patients are exempt from taxes on their medicine purchases…Sales data for the medical marijuana market prior to Jan. 10, 2023, is not available. Previously, seed-to-sale tracking was not mandatory for medical marijuana sales. Now, sales for both recreational and medical marijuana are recorded in BioTrack, the inventory tracking system employed to oversee the movement of cannabis products within the state’s medical and recreational cannabis markets. A transaction limit of 1/4 ounce of raw flower or its equivalent is in place for all recreational purchases. Medical marijuana patients may purchase up to 5 ounces per month and are not subject to individual transaction limits. Future data will be provided on ct.gov/cannabis. The data will be refreshed monthly on or after the 10th of each month, and new data will be added as it becomes available.
In 2021, Connecticut legalized recreational cannabis for adults aged 21 and over when Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont ratified a bill that abolished prohibition and set the foundation for the market that started in January.
Lamont explained at the time, “This is why I proposed a bill and collaborated diligently with our legislative partners and other interested parties to establish a comprehensive structure for a securely regulated market that gives priority to public health, public safety, social justice, and equity. This will aid in eradicating the hazardous unregulated market and support a burgeoning sector of our economy, which will generate jobs.” Lamont added, “By permitting adults to possess cannabis, regulating its sale and content, equipping police officers with the latest methods of detecting and preventing impaired driving, and erasing the criminal records of individuals with certain cannabis crimes, we’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities, we’re ensuring Connecticut remains economically competitive with our neighboring states.”
In December, Lamont announced that approximately 44,000 minor pot-related convictions were being expunged as part of the new cannabis law.
“Particularly as Connecticut employers are looking to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies, a past conviction for minor cannabis possession should not hinder someone from pursuing their career, housing, professional, and educational goals,” the governor, who was re-elected for a second term in November, declared in a statement at that time.
