Medical marijuana sales in Pennsylvania exceed $132M in first year

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Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis businesses made at least 600,000 transactions during the program’s first year and their sales totaled $132 million, according to state officials.

That marks a strong start for medical marijuana businesses in the Keystone State compared to others that recently completed their debut MMJ sales.

Maryland’s medical cannabis program totaled just under $100 million in its first year, which was more than the combined first-year MMJ sales of New York, Illinois and Massachusetts.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said that more than 83,000 people purchased MMJ at the 45 dispensaries that are up and running.

More than $2 million in state taxes were paid by grower/processors.

Roughly 1,000 doctors are currently approved to certify patients for the program.

Pennsylvania’s 2016 medical marijuana law permits MMJ use for a list of conditions, including:

  • AIDS
  • Autism
  • Cancer
  • Chronic pain
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder

Other nascent MMJ markets, including Hawaii’s, have seen a buying pattern of small amounts of medical cannabis purchased by a large percentage of the patient pool during the early days of the program.

Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily