Marijuana Sales In Maryland Top $1.1 Billion In First Year Of Legal Recreational Use

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Medical and adult-use retail sales of cannabis in Maryland have surpassed $1.1 billion in the first 12 months following legalization, Governor Wes Moore announced last week.

The Maryland Cannabis Administration reported that June’s monthly retail sales topped $95 million, $67 million of the total coming from the adult-use market. Since cannabis was legalized for adult consumers in the state on July 1, 2023, adult-use sales have totaled over $700 million and medical sales have surpassed nearly $400 million.

“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. Moore. “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.”

The governor also highlighted other accomplishments from the first year of legalization, including establishing “a first-in-the-nation state cannabis reference laboratory dedicated to cannabis oversight and managed by a state cannabis regulatory agency” and opening “the first cannabis business licensing round in the nation that was reserved exclusively for social equity applicants.”

Moore said that state had collected over $40 million in fees from licensed cannabis businesses to support the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which provides funding to support community-based initiatives that benefit low-income communities and those that were disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.

He added that a partnership with the Maryland Department of Labor established a first-in-the-nation Cannabis Workforce Development Program, which will prioritize training individuals with a history of cannabis-related offenses.

Moore also recently signed an executive order pardoning about 175,000 marijuana convictions for people in Maryland.

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