Photo by Dima Mukhin on Unsplash
Arizona officials have released preliminary sales revenue data for February, for both the state’s adult-use and medical cannabis markets. February was the first full month of adult-use sales in Arizona.
According to Ryan Randazzo, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, February’s adult-use sales reached $35.7 million. However, he notes that, according to the state Department of Revenue (ADOR), “some of that money was held over from the 10 days of [recreational] sales in January, while some taxes have yet to be remitted.
Medical cannabis sales revenue reached $57.8 million in February, according to Randazzo. As we have covered for some time, the Arizona Department of Public Health’s monthly reports on the state’s medical cannabis system only include sales volume figures. Randazzo points out that ADOR implemented a new code for medical cannabis taxes, allowing monthly revenue figures to be assessed. We noted in early March that February 2021’s medical cannabis sales volume was down 10% year-over-year.
All told, Arizona’s licensed cannabis businesses generated a total of roughly $93.5 million in February.
Arizona’s first month of combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales are greater than total sales in some states with more mature adult-use markets. For example, Oregon retailers sold over $88.9 million worth of product to both adult-use consumers and patients in February. Oregon’s adult-use market opened in late 2016. Nevada has not yet released February sales figures, but total adult-use and medical sales in that state have hovered consistently between about $75 million and $83 million for the past several months. Recreational sales commenced in Nevada in July 2017.
The newer adult-use markets of Michigan and Illinois outpaced all of those mentioned above in February, with total retail sales of $105.8 million and $110.3 million in February, respectively. As we have noted in previous reports, strong revenue figures out of new adult-use markets are reshaping the U.S. cannabis landscape. Previously, Washington State, Oregon, and Nevada rounded out the top five largest state-legal cannabis markets, after California and Colorado. Additionally, the fact that Arizona’s February adult-use sales trailed retail revenues from its medical cannabis sector significantly indicates that total monthly sales have significant room for growth once licensed businesses can build out additional production to fully supply the recreational side of the market.