The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection said Wednesday that the state’s combined sales of adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana reached a $27.5 million in the month of December 2023. This figure marks the highest single-month total since the state’s cannabis market opened for business.
The breakdown of this sales figure reveals that the adult-use cannabis market contributed more than $17.1 million, while the medical marijuana market recorded more than $10.3 million in sales for the same period. This brings the total combined sales since the launch of adult-use cannabis on January 10, 2023, to $274 million – an estimated $144.7 million for recreational sales and $129.2 million in medical sales.
According to the Department of Revenue Services, the state through November 30, 2023 has collected $21.72 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales. That breaks down to $13.8 million in excise taxes and $7.89 million in sales taxes. Taxes are only collected on the recreational sales, and not the medical sales.
In 2021, the Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated that Connecticut would reach that number by June 2023, the end of the fiscal year. It didn’t. By June 30, 2023 it had collected $9.5 million.
State recreational cannabis taxes include a standard 6.35% sales tax and an excise tax, which changes based on the amount of THC sold per unit.
“One year ago, the state of Connecticut opened an entirely new market, creating jobs, opportunity, and a safe, regulated way for adults to purchase cannabis,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. “This was no small task, and the team at DCP launched this new market in a thoughtful, measured way. Since then, many new businesses have opened and more are on the way. We are proud of the work carried out by our agency over the past year, and we are looking forward to continued growth, fair regulation, collaboration with our sister agencies, and thoughtful problem solving as new challenges present themselves in the years to come.”
Rodrick Marriott, DCP Drug Control Director, highlighted the agency’s dedication to monitoring and regulating the market. “Our team has worked diligently over the past year to continue reviewing and approving provisional and final license applications, as well as more than 4,600 new brand and product registrations,” said Marriott. “The addition of the seed-to-sale tracking program during the market launch has been a valuable resource in evaluating market trends and fluctuations, and as more data is collected, will continue to provide insight into the growth of the industry as we gain year-over-year data.”
Since the market’s inception in January 2023, Connecticut has witnessed the opening of 19 new retail and hybrid retail establishments, along with one Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivator and one micro-cultivator, which is an Equity Joint Venture. Additionally, two licensed delivery services have started operating, increasing access for both patients and adult-use consumers.
Furthermore, the DCP has issued a total of 94 provisional licenses across all license types. Licenses issued prior to July 1, 2023, will expire two years after the date of issuance, while licenses issued after July 1, 2023, will expire after 14 months.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story based on information from the DCP included the wrong 2023 cannabis sales total.
