BDSA Data Examines Early Impact of Pandemic on 3 Eastern Cannabis Markets

A Detailed Look at Cannabis Sales in Illinois, Maryland and Massachussetts

We are pleased to share with our readers overviews on three Eastern cannabis markets compiled by BDSA for the month of April. BDSA offers a full understanding of the evolving cannabis market though several offerings, including its GreenEdge Retail Sales Tracking, Consumer Insights, Industry Intelligence and CBD Market Monitor divisions.

BDSA has been sharing data for Massachusetts only since October, so the comparisons to year ago levels aren’t available. Similarly, it began publishing medical data for Illinois, which launched adult-use in January, in July. Maryland, however, has data back to January 2019, which allows for year-over-year comparisons. Each of these relatively new limited-license markets are very different from the more mature Western cannabis markets that BDSA has shared at New Cannabis Ventures as well.

Here is a closer look at each market, as detailed by BDSA:

Illinois

In April 2020, Cannabis sales in Illinois’s medical and adult use channels totaled at $68.4 million, growing four percent since March. Year-to-date through April, sales have exceeded $256.4 million.

Flower sales accounted for more than 38 percent of overall monthly revenue in April with $26.2 million in sales. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for nearly five percent of revenues with $3.4 million in sales. Compared to the trailing month, Flower sales grew by eight percent and Pre-rolled Joints increased by 19 percent.

The Concentrates category, which competes with Flower as the largest segment of the Illinois cannabis market, also accounted for 38 percent of total April revenues with sales reaching $26 million for the month. Vape products, the largest segment of the Concentrates category, generated $20.7 million, accounting for 80 percent of the Illinois Concentrates market and 30 percent of sales across all categories.

The Ingestibles category includes both Edibles and Sublinguals while also distinguishing the two subcategories. The Ingestibles category made up 18 percent of overall sales in April with $12.1 million in monthly revenue. In April, the $11.8 million in Edibles sales accounted for nearly 98 percent of Ingestibles sales overall, while Sublinguals made up the remaining two percent. Compared to the trailing month, Edibles sales have stayed about the same and Sublingual sales declined by about eight percent.

Maryland

In April 2020, Cannabis sales in Maryland’s medical dispensaries reached $34 million, increasing by about two percent from March. Compared to the previous April, sales in Maryland grew by over 101 percent. Year-to-date through April, sales reached $124.8 million, representing a $58.9 million increase from the same period last year.

Flower sales accounted for nearly 52 percent of overall monthly revenue with $17.7 million in sales. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for seven percent of revenues with $2.3 million in sales. Compared to the previous April, sales of Flower grew by 119 percent and Pre-rolled Joints increased by 125 percent.

Concentrate sales accounted for 27 percent of overall April revenues totaling $9.3 million for the month, representing a three percent decline from March. Vape products, the largest segment of the Concentrates category, generated $6.2 million in sales, making up 66 percent of the Maryland Concentrates market and over 18 percent of sales across all categories. Compared to April 2019, sales of Dabbable Concentrates grew by 70 percent, while Vape sales grew by 55 percent.

The Ingestibles category contributed 12 percent of sales in April with $4.1 million in revenue. In April, sales from Edibles generated more than 91 percent of Ingestibles sales overall, decreasing three percent from March. Sublinguals sales made up the remaining nine percent and declined 24 percent from the trailing month. Compared to the previous April, Edibles sales grew by 276 percent and Sublingual sales increased by three percent.

Massachusetts

In April 2020, Cannabis sales in Massachusetts’s medical channel totaled $17.3 million and increased by 21 percent compared to the trailing month. Total market sales, declined by 73 percent since March as adult-use retail locations were deemed non-essential and required to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. BDSA will continue to report on medical market sales until further notice.

Year-to-date through April, total market sales have exceeded $212.1 million.

Flower sales accounted for 48 percent of overall monthly revenue in April with $8.3 million in sales. Pre-rolled Joints, which are tracked as a separate category, accounted for nearly 12 percent of revenues with $2.1 million in sales. Compared to the trailing month, sales of Flower in the medical channel increased by 22 percent and Pre-rolled Joints increased by 16 percent.

Concentrate sales accounted for nearly 24 percent of overall April revenues with sales totaling $4.2 million. Vape products, the largest segment of the Concentrates category, generated $2.7 million in sales. The category made up 65 percent of the Massachusetts Concentrates market and over 15 percent of sales across all categories. Concentrate sales in the medical channel increased by 21 percent as compared to March.

The Ingestibles category includes both Edibles and Sublinguals while also distinguishing the two subcategories. The Ingestibles category made up 14 percent of overall sales in April with $2.5 million in monthly revenue. In April, the $2.1 million in Edibles sales generated about 83 percent of Ingestibles sales overall, while Sublinguals made up the remaining 17 percent. Compared to the trailing month, Edibles sales in the medical channel increased by 23 percent and Sublingual sales increased by five percent.

For readers looking for a deeper look at cannabis markets across these three states and more, including segmentation by additional product categories, brand and item detail, longer history, and segmentation by product attributes, learn how the BDSA GreenEdge Platform can provide you with unlimited access to the most accurate and actionable data and analysis.

Published by NCV Newswire
NCV Newswire
The NCV Newswire by New Cannabis Ventures aims to curate high quality content and information about leading cannabis companies to help our readers filter out the noise and to stay on top of the most important cannabis business news. The NCV Newswire is hand-curated by an editor and not automated in anyway. Have a confidential news tip? Get in touch.

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