After ‘brutal’ year, Maryland’s medical cannabis industry banks on recreational market
Marijuana Industry NewsMaryland January 22, 2023 MJ Shareholders 0
After years of explosive growth and expansion, Maryland’s medical cannabis industry appears to have hit its ceiling. For the first time since the industry launched five years ago, total revenue decreased in 2022.
Data released by state regulators show more Marylanders than ever have a medical card, and those patients are buying more flower, gummies and vapes than ever before. But the rate of new patient registrations slowed and the price of cannabis in Maryland plummeted over the past year, largely driven by an oversupply of product from cultivators and processors, industry insiders said.
Some companies are reviewing their budgets, freezing hiring and trying to hold steady until the state’s recreational cannabis industry starts — and hopefully kicks off a surge in business.
Mitch Trellis, co-founder of Remedy, called it a “brutal” year for his dispensary business. Remedy, based in Columbia, underwent a rebranding and opened a second store in Baltimore County in 2022. But as the price of cannabis products steadily declined, Remedy has needed to review every cost associated with the business and “try to basically survive,” Trellis said.
“People think everyone in the weed business is getting rich, and they really don’t understand,” he said.
When the industry kicked off, dispensaries were outbidding each other for cannabis flower as growers struggled to meet demand. The average price of a gram of medical cannabis was nearly $16 at the beginning of 2018. [Read More @ The Baltimore Sun]
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