Maine’s adult-use marijuana industry had another record-breaking month in June, with nearly $6.5 million sold in June.
“Flowers are always at the top of the list, but edibles are really, probably out-performing our expectations,” said Kaspar Heinrici, co-owner of Seaweed Co.
Those are the popular products at the retail stores in Portland and South Portland.
“The excitement is only growing,” said Heinrici.
From first-timers to regular customers, there’s growing demand for marijuana in Maine.
“From the day we opened in October in South Portland, there was a kind of a giddiness, and you can sense that again with the tourists and people who maybe aren’t as familiar with having adult-use cannabis,” he said.
Heinrici said both locations are getting a boost from summer tourists.
“Overall, I’d say it’s about a 15 percent increase, so it’s something,” he said. “It’s noticeable.”
Statewide, retail sales reached $6.47 million in June, up more than a million dollars from May. State data show more than 86,000 transactions.
“Taking a look at some early data, we expect the same thing for July, so it’s incredibly encouraging,” said Erik Gundersen, director of the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy.
He said access is expanding, with 45 active retail stores and around 50 municipalities opting-in.
“Consumers are starting to choose the regulated, tested, tracked marketplace for cannabis,” Gundersen said.
When asked how long this type of sales growth can last, Gundersen said, “If you look at other states that have come before us, for them to actually hit the maturity level within the industry takes a number of years.”
And while the sales are certainly good news, Heinrici said there’s also a lot of red tape, and with it, comes added cost.
“There are high costs of testing and taxes and tracking and tracing everything,” he said.
Gundersen said the department is putting together a plan to collect feedback from stakeholders about the adult-use and medical programs.
He said there will be proposed changes, as they look to make improvements to both. The Legislature will have the final say.
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