Cannabis sales continued to decline in September, but dispensary owners say it is not an unexpected phenomenon, and the market will continue to mature as it withstands a worldwide recession on the heels of a global pandemic.
The medical cannabis market continued its precipitous decline, dropping to slightly less than $31 million in sales for the month of September, a 12% dip from the $35.2 cardholders purchased in August.
The decline of that sector began in earnest this past spring, and the September sales totals are less than half of the high water mark of $73 million in March 2021, the largest monthly total since recreational sales began in January 2021. Adult-use recreational sales fell nearly $2 million from August to September to $75.3 million, though the recreational market has been much more stable, hovering around that level since May.
September 2021 was the last time medical sales were larger than recreational. That month, the Arizona Department of Revenue reported $63.4 million in medical sales compared to $58.5 million on the recreational side — but every month’s reporting since then has shown the programs going in opposite directions.