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Mass Cannabis Sales Up Sharply this Summer Despite High Prices

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According to cannabis industry analysts BDSA, cannabis sales are booming in the Bay State fueled by strong adult-use sales. All totaled, the Mass. medicinal and recreational cannabis industry raked in $92 million in July of this year with year-to-date sales blowing past $412 million. July’s take was a staggering 24 percent higher than June’s.

This is despite the fact that Mass. cannabis prices are among the highest in the country. According to the Boston Globe, marijuana products in Mass. sell for “around double the price of their equivalents in the most mature recreational markets, according to a review of dispensary menus around the country and new data provided to the Globe by several analytics firms.”

The Globe goes on to claim that “cannabis here is even pricier than in other states that legalized the drug more recently; only the nascent and heavily taxed Illinois market approaches the Bay State’s exorbitant prices.”

According to the report, an eighth of an ounce of flower costs $50 to $60 on the Mass. recreational market. And that’s before adding about 20 percent in combined state and local tax. That’s more than twice the cost of cannabis flower in Oregon. The discrepancy in vape prices is similar.

Although lower prices might not result in higher overall sales figures, price drops would likely drive more buyers in from the illicit market in the state resulting in similar revenue streams but reducing the resources spent chasing black market sellers.

“Experts attribute the high cost in Massachusetts to the state’s steep cannabis taxes, seasonal climate (which forces most marijuana cultivation to take place inside expensive climate-controlled facilities with artificial lights), and, most of all, a slow and onerous business licensing process that has limited the number of new producers and retailers opening for business. Four years after voters signed off on legal cannabis, there are just 36 cultivators and 70 retailers operating in the Massachusetts recreational market.” — The Boston Globe

Cannabis sales are expected to jump even higher once new delivery rules are put in place in Mass. The Mass. Cannabis Control Commission recently drafted delivery regulations that call for two distinct delivery license types — one for consumer sales and one for wholesalers. 

Below are some statistics on Mass. cannabis sales according to BDSA:

  • Flower sales accounted for 48 percent of overall monthly revenue in July, up 26 percent over June.

  • Mass. cannabis consumers bought $44.5 million worth of flower in July.

  • Additionally, pre-rolled Joints brought in $9.8 million, or about 11 percent of total cannabis sales — an increase of 28 percent over June.

  • Concentrates accounted for a little over one-quarter of July sales at $23.7 million, with 71 percent of that, or $16.9 million being spent on vape products.

  • Ingestibles (edibles and sublinguals) accounted for 14 percent of overall sales in July at $12.6 million, 85 percent of which was spent on edibles.

Check out New Cannabis Ventures.com for this story.

More “Green Communities” Clean Energy Grants Awarded

We’ve written about the surge in clean energy grants in Massachusetts in previous weeks and the trend continues. Since 2010, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has awarded over $136 million to Green Communities in Designation Grants and Competitive Grants.

This week, more than $13 million in Green Communities grants were doled out to 103 municipalities across Massachusetts.

The grants help to support increased energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the state. The grant program is just one of many programs in the state’s mission to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

“The Green Communities program continues to make significant progress in helping municipalities reduce their carbon footprint and save on energy costs. Our administration is committed to supporting clean energy and energy efficiency efforts that make the Commonwealth’s cities and towns cleaner, healthier, and more affordable places to live.” - Mass. Governor Charlie Baker

Click here for additional information on awarded projects and funding amounts. 

In related news, however, a newly released study claims that communities with high proportions of renters and non-English speakers had some of the lowest participation rates in a program called Mass Save.

According to the study conducted last year, just over one in ten eligible households in the city of Chelsea participate in Mass Save programs, with Brockton, Everett, Lynn, Lawrence, and other communities with a high proportion of renters and non-English speakers.

According to the study, more than one-third of homeowners in affluent communities such as Bolton and Carlisle have participated in the program.

NBC Boston has more on this story.

Single-Family Home Prices Jump 15 Percent in August

Low inventory drove the median price of single-family homes in Massachusetts up by 14.3 percent year-over-year to $480,000 in August. That is according to a new report by the Warren Group. 

Here are some detailed statistics on rising home prices in Mass.:

  • 6,675 single-family homes were sold in Massachusetts last month.

  • Year-to-date 36,145 single-family homes have been purchased in Mass. at a median sale price of $435,000.

  • 14,518 condos have been purchased at a median sale price of $417,000.

  • On the mainland, Berkshire County saw the steepest increase at 21.8 percent with a median price of $263,000.

  • Offshore, Nantucket and Dukes Counties both recorded massive year-over-year price increases nearing 50 percent.

  • The median price of condos in Berkshire County grew by 77 percent to $310,400.

  • Single-family home prices in Boston jumped 59 percent with a median price of $2.8 million. 

  • The median price of condos grew by 11.7 percent to $195,450.

  • Condo prices in Boston fell by just under 10 percent compared to August 2019 as buyers fled to the suburbs.

  • Single-family homes in Worcester rose by more than 15 percent to $290,000.

  • Single-family homes in Springfield went up 18 percent to $196,500.

  • Condos in Springfield rose by more than one-third compared to August 2019 to a median price of $148,500.

Read all about it at MassLive.com.

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