New Mexico marijuana sales have broken a new record. According to state data, sales of marijuana in New Mexico for both medical and recreational purposes totaled more than $48 million in August.
A report by NMRLD (New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department) shows retailers garnered 34,707,557 in adult use marijuana sales and $13, 525, 500 in medical use marijuana sales last month, for a total of $48,233,057.
Marijuana sales in the Land of Enchantments have been growing steadily
New Mexico marijuana sales have been growing month-to-month since legalization in April last year. From the launching day up to April 2023, retailers in the state sold over $300 million. These sales came from adult-use cannabis only. July recreational sales went slightly above $34 million while medical use sales stood at $13.6 million.
Combined, the state made $47.6 million in cannabis sales. The August figures had adult use sales increased by 1.8% from July but medical use sales declined by 1.2% from July. Since the state legalized the recreational use of marijuana in April 2022, sales of medical use marijuana began a slow decline but adult use sales have been growing steadily.
This decline is not unique to New Mexico only but it has been a consistent trend in states where medical use of marijuana is legalized first followed by adult use of marijuana several years later. The growth received a boost from a vibrant tourism sector in the state.
Cross-border customers from Texas and other neighboring states also gave adult use sales a significant boost. A prediction by 2023 MJBiz Factbook shows New Mexico marijuana sales will rise to $400 million by the end of this year. The fast growth in sales comes from the goodwill of New Mexicans and the favorable laws.
Sales made by 1,021 licensed dispensaries
As of August 2023, New Mexico had 1,021 licensed retailers. Combined, they made 1,095,922 Mexico marijuana sales transactions. Since April, medicinal use and adult use customers had a combined marijuana purchase of nearly $724 million. Governor
Michelle Lujan Grisham hailed the high revenue figures and said the sector has created many job opportunities since cannabis legalization in April. The Governor didn’t confirm whether she made any marijuana purchases although she didn’t refute last year after she visited a dispensary on opening day.
New Mexico is not the only state making record sales
New Mexico is not the only state that is breaking records in marijuana sales but there are many other states with surging sales records in August. States such as Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts broke their August sales records.
Missouri tops the list of retailers making approximately $4 million worth of cannabis sales daily. Adult use sales in the state were launched in February. Retailers in the state sold a staggering $121.2 million in marijuana sales in June.
State records in Maryland show the state raised the bar by breaking another adult use sales record in August. The records show retailers garnered $92 million, just two months since recreational sales were legalized.
Michigan’s sales records went off the roof in July after adult use and medical use customers made nearly $277 million worth of purchases.
Illinois has been rising fast since the launch of adult-use sales in 2020. Adult use customers made total purchases of cannabis worth $140 million in July this year. Since January this year, July sales have been the highest and also the second highest since 2020.
Connecticut also joined the list of states that broke adult-use marijuana sales in August. Data from the state shows retailers sold cannabis worth $25 million. The revenue came from both adult use and medical use marijuana purchases. Recreational marijuana in the state was legalized in January this year while medical-use marijuana was legalized in 2012. As of August, the state had about 40 legal cannabis retailers located in different places around the state.
Massachusetts also broke records after retailers sold $139.3 million in August. The Bay State was among the first states to legalize recreational marijuana after voters in the state approved Question 4. Adult sales however did not start until November 20, 2018.
Five years down the line, the state’s adult-use market has sold marijuana worth over $5 billion. This year’s records have already exceeded expectations after retailers generated sales worth $1.05 billion from January to August this year. Massachusetts was the 18th state to pass medical use marijuana laws after voters voted yes in 2012.
Maine is another state that is doing well in adult-use marijuana sales. In August alone, the state made sales worth almost $22 million according to a report released by the state’s Office of Cannabis Policy. In July, the state made adult use sales worth $20.8 million. Voters in Maine approved Question 1 in 2016 but retail sales officially began in October 2020.
Legal adult-use marijuana sales in New Mexico started in April 2022
Lawmakers in New Mexico approved the Cannabis Regulation Act in March 2021 setting the pace for opening retail outlets. On April 12, 2021, Governor Michelle Lujan signed the bill into law but legal sales didn’t start until April 2022. Earlier in 2007, Governor Bill Richardson had signed another bill legalizing the medical use of cannabis in the state. After the Governor signed the bill into law in April, many people who had been convicted before legalization benefited a lot. The signing of the law meant automatic expungements of the convicts.
The Governor however recommended the need to revise the current laws to prohibit incarceration of convicts arrested due to simple drug possession. Recently, regulators in the state added Insomnia to the list of conditions that qualify for medical use marijuana prescription. This might help boost medical use marijuana sales before the end of this year.
A state labor report published in June shows employees in the New Mexico cannabis market are some of the best paid compared to the average in other states. As of September 2023, a ZipRecruiter report shows the average hourly pay for marijuana sector workers in the state was $34.47. Experts predict the New Mexico cannabis market will grow at a CAGR of 25% year-to-year up to 2027 to stand at $82.3 billion by 2027. This growth will create more jobs and attract better pay.
