Photo: Frank Busch
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission recently released adult-use market data for August 2021. August sales, at $125,843,894, were down 1% from July’s $127,113,019. As we have noted in regard to other states, July contained five weekends, when sales typically spike, so the small downturn from July to August suggests that the steady growth Massachusetts’ adult-use sector has been experiencing is not slowing in a meaningful way.
Meanwhile, the data shows significant jumps in quarterly sales year-to-date. Q1 sales were $268.7 million, Q2 sales were $327.7 million, and, thus far in Q3, sales are $253 million suggesting the current period will be another record breaking quarter, a not uncommon occurrence in recently legal, high population states. Year-on-year, August adult use sales are up 58.1%. While the Massachusetts market was slow to get off the ground initially, it seems to be hitting its stride.
Massachusetts also provides average monthly per-ounce retail prices, as depicted in the graph below. Readers should note that the anomalous drop shown in the chart is due to the suspension of adult-use sales that occurred as part of the state’s COVID-19 response, which lasted from late March to late May 2020. After sales resumed, average retail flower prices trended upward for several months, culminating in a high of $379.06 in November 2020, after which price has remained remarkably stable, sliding just $13 since that point.
Retail ounce price slipped $3 from July to August 2021 and is trading at levels not seen since June 2020. From a technical perspective, there is no support for current ounce prices. (Again, the dip in the chart occurred when adult-use sales were suspended.) However, given market fundamentals – including an ever growing customer base and contiguous large population states delaying adult use retail – there is a good chance price remains stable within the $350 to $400 per ounce range. August 2021’s average retail price is $367.08 per ounce, equivalent to $5,873 per pound.
Massachusetts also issued data on Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (the state’s term for dispensaries). August 2021 medical sales were $26,540,694, 2.6% lower than July sales of $27,259,175. Cumulative 2021 sales through August 31, 2021 are $211,187,070, or an average of $26.4 million per month.