Total medical and retail sales of cannabis surpassed $1.1 billion during the first 12 months following legalization in Maryland.
According to the Maryland Cannabis Administration, monthly retail sales surpassed $95 million in June, with the adult-use market accounting for more than $67 million in sales.
Cannabis was legalized for adult consumers on July 1, 2023, and adult-use sales totaled more than $700 million and medical sales totaled nearly $400 million since then.
“Our new adult-use cannabis market isn’t only generating extraordinary economic activity – it’s also helping us build new pathways to work, wages, and wealth for all,” said Gov. Wes Moore in a news release.
“Making Maryland more competitive means ensuring that everyone can reap the benefits of Maryland’s economic growth. This important milestone proves how our administration continually – and repeatedly – honors our deep commitment to that mission,” Moore said.
During the first business licensing round, Maryland selected 205 businesspeople, of which 54% were Black or African American.
Maryland also established the first state cannabis reference laboratory dedicated to cannabis oversight that is managed by a state cannabis regulatory agency, according to Moore.
The state collected more than $40 million in fees from licensed cannabis businesses to support the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which provides funding directly to local jurisdictions to support community-based initiatives that benefit low-income communities and communities that were disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.
The Maryland Department of Labor helped establish a Cannabis Workforce Development Program to prioritize training individuals with a history of cannabis-related offenses.
“I 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,” said Maryland Cannabis Administration Director Will Tilburg. “As 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.”
The state Department of Health helped launch a public health and safety campaign called “BeCannabisSmart.”
Maryland also launched a Medical and Adult-Use Data Dashboard, which provides public access to key program and industry metrics.
