The state may end the year with more than 50 shuttered marijuana businesses, but there are more than five times that many recent applicants for new licenses
It’s fair to criticize the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for how it manages data, especially regarding product testing. In another example from this year, we questioned how the agency counts the number of people who work in the industry.
There does not appear to be malevolent intent behind the CCC’s lack of complete transparency. Perhaps some subtle spin to make the commission look good, but overall it does a decent job of telling the story of Mass grass through numbers. Lots of them, including breakdowns of everything from sales data to Social Equity participant info and the number of Women-Owned businesses.
With 2024 coming to a close, we highlighted some of the agency’s helpful current data output below, and in certain places peppered it with some analysis as well …
Massachusetts cannabis surpasses $7 billion sales mark
Speaking of sales numbers, here’s the official big announcement on that front: “Adult-use licensees including Marijuana Retailers, Delivery Operators and Couriers, and Microbusinesses with Delivery Endorsements crossed the $7 billion sales mark on Nov. 19 – eight days before Green Wednesday. This milestone, which reflects total sales since the first two Marijuana Retailers commenced operations in November 2018, includes the industry’s highest-ever sales months this past July and August and reflects licensees achieving another $1 billion milestone in seven months, the fastest time ever, since Marijuana Establishments surpassed the $6 billion mark on April 17.”
A CCC media release broke out the pompoms: “Marijuana Establishments then achieved $7.9 million in gross sales on Nov. 27, otherwise known as ‘Green Wednesday,’ a nearly $500,000 increase over the same consumer sales holiday in 2023—and the second-best sales day ever for the adult-use cannabis industry after the April 20 consumer holiday earlier this year. … To date, adult-use cannabis sales have reached $1.5 billion in 2024.”
“These sales figures demonstrate that Massachusetts customers remain loyal to their local cannabis businesses, they trust the Commonwealth’s regulated marketplace and tested products, and they will continue bolstering the longest-running adult-use market along the East Coast,” Acting CCC Chair Bruce Stebbins said in a statement. “We look forward to tackling ongoing policy matters in 2025 that will further strengthen our market— beyond recent regulatory changes for delivery and microbusiness licensees—and the upcoming implementation of a new social consumption framework.”
Massachusetts cannabis by the numbers in 2024
We featured some of the commission’s data visuals and infographics below along with some brief explainers …
As of Dec. 12, 2024, there were 241 licensing applications under review across all categories. The most pending applicants are for: Marijuana Retailer (69); Marijuana Cultivator (52); Marijuana Product Manufacturer (39).
Of those 52 cultivation applications, 43 are for indoor grows, with the remaining nine for farms under the sun. The image below shows the breakdown between cultivation tiers.
Those numbers should be somewhat helpful to anyone wanting to see how many brave souls are still really looking to enter the market at this juncture; unlike the number of open provisional licenses, which includes a lot of applicants who have informally and quietly stepped back, these hopefuls have only recently thrown their hats in the ring.
It’s also worth noting that the CCC appears to be on top of its licensing game, with only four applications awaiting review as of Dec. 12, 2024.
The state of medical marijuana in Massachusetts in 2024
The map of Marijuana Retailer Licenses shows why even people in the cannabis industry often drive down a street they know well and discover a spanking new pot shop they had no prior clue about, while the map of Medical Marijuana Treatment Center Licenses is grim. As are the medical numbers: 61 MTC licenses expired, with zero new applicants working toward an opening day.
According to the CCC, “Since the Commission assumed oversight of the Medical Use of Marijuana Program in December 2018, dispensing Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MTCs) have generated $1.4 billion in medical sales overall and $177 million so far in 2024 alone.”
The Cannabis Control Commission’s outlook
Also interesting from the CCC: “Coinciding with the $7 billion adult-use sales milestone, the average price of flower in Massachusetts has reportedly decreased to $4.58 per gram. According to Metrc data, cannabis flower (e.g., buds, shake, trim) and pre-roll products were the biggest sellers over the Green Wednesday holiday week, generating a combined $22.7 million in sales. Vape products were the second-most popular ($8.5 million in sales) followed by edibles ($4.8 million).”
Meanwhile, “The $7 billion Marijuana Establishment sales milestone comes just before the Commission’s Social Consumption Working Group revealed a proposal for three, new forthcoming social consumption license types on Dec. 5. They are designed to help existing and future licensees expand into new spaces and pursue new business opportunities in line with the Commission’s duty to uphold a safe, equitable, and effectively regulated cannabis industry in Massachusetts. The Commission will review red-line regulatory changes for those license types starting on Dec. 17, prior to the opening of an informal public comment period for constituents to provide feedback.”
Massachusetts may see its fiftieth cannabis license surrendered by the end of this year, but it is sure to approve many times that number in 2025, possibly including dozens or even more in wholly new social consumption classes.
