Pot sales hit $2.3B since legalization
As the state hit the three-year anniversary of recreational marijuana sales on Saturday, Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said the smooth rollout of the business, now registering over $2.3 billion in sales, is one to be proud of.
The first two recreational marijuana retailers — New England Treatment Access in Northampton and Cultivate in Leicester — opened their doors to consumers on Nov. 20, 2018. The industry that voters legalized in 2016 has since grown to include hundreds of businesses, thousands of employees and now roughly $2.3 billion in cannabis sales.
“That’s a pretty phenomenal number and you know, I think on top of the numbers, one of the things I’m proudest of is just how smooth the rollout has been and the growth of this industry,” Hoffman said. “There’s certainly been some things that have happened along the way, but for the most part, it’s been an extraordinarily smooth rollout and I would compare it favorably to any other state that either preceded us or opened at the same time we did.”
Hoffman is the last man standing from the original makeup of the CCC as it was created in September 2017 and is the only commissioner who was involved in the launch of retail sales.
Executive Director Shawn Collins, who began shaping the state’s cannabis rollout while working in state Treasurer Deb Goldberg’s office before being tapped as the CCC’S first administrative head, ticked through other CCC milestones and accomplishments during a report to commissioners late last week.
In the last three years, the CCC had approved 945 marijuana business licenses, including for 379 retailers, 285 cultivators and 218 product manufacturers.
So far, 176 retail stores have opened their doors, 62 cultivators are growing marijuana and 55 companies are manufacturing products such as edibles and vaporizer cartridges.
Collins said the CCC has also approved licenses for 14 independent testing labs (eight of which have been cleared to begin testing activities), a crucial part of the supply chain since all marijuana sold in Massachusetts must first be tested by such a lab.
There are more than 17,000 active employees in the recreational use marijuana industry here and more than 8,800 active employees in the medical marijuana segment, according to the CCC.
Despite the accomplishments, Hoffman acknowledged that the CCC still has plenty of work ahead of it. Boosting participation in the industry among people from communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs is a perennial focus of the CCC.
“We all recognize we have lots more to do to meet our legislative mandates, to live up to our mission statement, to meet our commitment of making Massachusetts the role model for this industry for the entire country. So we do have a lot of work to do,” he said.