Cannabis is flying off shelves in Connecticut, according to state data, and adult-use cannabis transactions accounted for over half of the money coming in. Adult-use sales began on Jan. 10 and sales revenue has increased every month since the market launched.

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The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced in an Oct. 10 press release that new preliminary data shows combined sales for adult-use and medical cannabis totaled to over $25 million for the period from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, 2023.

The numbers do not include adult-use cannabis taxes, and medical cannabis patients never have to pay taxes on cannabis purchases.

The Hartford Courant reports that the sales numbers represent a new record, though it’s close to the totals recorded in August.

“The adult-use market recorded more than $14.3 million in sales during the month of September, while the medical marijuana market recorded almost $11 million in sales for the same period. Adult-use sales began on Jan. 10, 2023,” the report reads.

“In September, medical marijuana patients purchased 284,116 products, and adult-use consumers purchased 376,035 products,” the report continues. “The average product price for medical marijuana patients was $38.21 in September, while the average price of adult-use products was $38.37. In September, 52 percent of sales were usable cannabis, or flower, while vapes made up 30 percent of sales. Edible products represented 11 percent of sales.”

This data was collected through BioTrack, the state’s Seed-to-Sale Tracking System, a real-time inventory system used to track an individual cannabis plant from the point it is planted as a seed or clone to the point of sale.

All medical and adult-use cannabis licensees are required to input data into this system, showing the movement of cannabis products as they are grown, manufactured, tested, and ultimately sold. (Information about the person who purchases the final cannabis product is not recorded.) 

Recreational cannabis users can purchase a quarter ounce of flower or its equivalent per transaction. Medical cannabis patients may buy up to five ounces per month.

Connecticut officials record cannabis sales data every month, so you can map the steady march of adult-use cannabis sales by looking at month-to-month sales on one of their many graphics.

DCP does not make revenue projections, set sales expectations, collect taxes, nor do they regulate prices. The DCP will make future data available at ct.gov/cannabis. The data will be updated monthly on or after the 10th of each month, and new data will continue to be added as it becomes available. Officials with the DCP urge adults who choose to smoke to do so responsibly.

Steady Pace of Sales

The numbers are nearly the same as the data collected in August. The DCP said in a press release that between Aug. 1-31, the combined total of both adult-use cannabis and medical cannabis sales reached almost $25 million.

“The adult-use market recorded more than $14 million in sales during the month of August, while the medical marijuana market recorded almost $11 million in sales for the same period,” the press release stated.

In August, medical cannabis patients purchased 278,395 cannabis products (with an average price of $39.36), while recreational consumers purchased 354,700 (with an average price of $39.49).

By product type, most sales (about 53%) included flower, followed by vape cartridges (27%), edibles (10%), extracts (7%), and “other” (4%) which pertains to products such as pills, tinctures, topicals, and more.

Medical cannabis was approved by former Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, but sales tracking was not required nor available prior to 2023. 

Adult-use cannabis was initially signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont in June 2021. Adult-use sales didn’t go live until January 2023, but the state collected $250,000 in sales on the first day with eight operational dispensaries. 

For adult-use cannabis, sales in January reached a total of $5 million, followed by $7 million in February, $9.5 million in March, $10 million in April, $11.5 million in May, $12.5 million in June, $13 million in July,, $14 million in August, and $14 million again in September.

But now you must add home cultivation to the picture. Officials with the DCP marked the launch of home cannabis cultivation, which went into effect on July 1.

“Adults who choose to grow their own cannabis should use safe and healthy gardening practices for growing any products they intend to consume,” DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement from the agency. “Plants should also be kept indoors, out of reach and out of sight from children and pets.”

Under the state’s regulations for home cannabis cultivation, adults ages 21 and older are permitted to grow up to six cannabis plants, including three immature and three mature, flowering plants. Plants must be kept secure from children, pets and others who should not be allowed access to cannabis. It’s not entirely clear how home cultivation will impact adult-use sales.

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