Marijuana Business Magazine October 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | October 2019 8 Medical Marijuana in the United States: Feast or Famine N ow that more than 70% of U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana in some form, the period of hypergrowth in the sector may be coming to a close. While Marijuana Business Daily anticipates continued growth in medical markets, we expect it to slow—especially compared to the growth yet to come in adult-use markets. One factor driving the expected slowdown: There are not many states left to legalize medical cannabis. Those remaining tend to have a conservative outlook on cannabis and may develop restrictive rules. Some of the largest medical markets—such as California and Michigan—have or will transition to adult-use markets. MMJ patient counts, sales and the number of dedicated medical businesses tend to decline once states begin adult-use sales. But it’s not all bad news for medical marijuana. Some of the newer medical markets are growing rapidly, including Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Medical programs often offer patients lower sales-tax rates and higher THC dosages, both of which encourage some cannabis users to retain their patient registrations. By Maggie Cowee Cannabis bythe Numbers | Maggie Cowee 4.1% Proportion of the Oklahoma population that has registered for the medical marijuana program after just over one year of sales. Oklahoma is currently the fastest-growing medical market with an average of more than 600 patients joining the registry each day. $620-$760 million Source: 2019 Marijuana Business Factbook Source: Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, U.S. Census Bureau Share of total U.S. marijuana sales in 2019 that Marijuana Business Daily estimates will come from medical marijuana. By 2023, MJBizDaily estimates this will drop to 28%. Marijuana Business Daily estimate for 2019 medical marijuana sales in Arizona—a 17% increase over 2018 sales. Arizona is expected to bring in the highest sales of all markets that are strictly medical. Source: 2019 Marijuana Business Factbook Sales tax on medical marijuana in Illinois. By contrast, Illinois regulators have proposed tax rates of 19.55% to 34.75% on recreational cannabis, depending on product potency. Recreational sales in Illinois will begin in January 2020. Source: Marijuana Business Daily and Marijuana Policy Project 1 % Sales Tax Source: 2019 Marijuana Business Factbook