It’s been almost four years since Florida legalized medical marijuana – but only months since patients have been able to buy smokable forms of the plant at dispensaries. Initially, after the passing of Amendment 2, state lawmakers went to work setting regulations for the new industry – one of which was a ban on smokable cannabis. However, after a nearly two year battle in court, flower hit the shelves of limited dispensaries back in March 2019.
Since then, Floridians have proven that thousands were waiting for access to medicine the way they needed it. In less than six months, Florida sold more than 22,000 pounds of medical marijuana – which already sounds like a lot.
Comparatively, that is three times more than the state of Ohio sold of all types of medical marijuana products in a full year!
December Tops 2019 Sales
Since March, Florida sales have been on a general upward tick – with sales the highest in December, where totals averaged around 180 pounds per day – or almost 1,300 pounds per week. The low for the year was around mid-July, with 590 pounds per week. (These numbers come directly from the Florida Department of Health, which back on July 12, 2019 started providing weekly reports on quantities of smokable medical marijuana sold in the state.)
If broken down between the three dispensaries that sold most of the state’s cannabis, you’ll notice a clear leader in the current Florida market:
- Trulieve sold 10,400 pounds (46% of the total 22,000)
- Liberty Health Sciences sold 3,700 pounds (16%)
- Curaleaf sold 3,100 pounds (14%)
Florida allows each patient to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of smokable cannabis every 35 days. At the time smokable legislation passed, there were almost 300,000 actively registered patients (roughly 1.4% of the state’s population). Now, there are 304,500 patients as of January 17, 2020. In 2019, there were 212 dispensaries throughout the state; now there are 218 in 2020, leaving roughly one store per 1,400 patients.
Compare to Ohio: Which sold roughly 7,000 pounds of medical marijuana (in all forms) in 2019 – with only 0.6% of the population registered to use medical marijuana and one dispensary per 1,700 patients.
Florida Sold An Estimated $100 Million In Cannabis In 6 Months
According to industry experts, Florida has generated $3.5 million to $5 million in weekly sales of smokable medical marijuana, with current prices varying from $10-15 per gram. Based on those same prices, from July to December 2019 the state sold roughly $100 million to $150 million in that short time. Florida sales of all medical marijuana in 2019 are estimated at $450-550 million.
More dispensary storefronts are planning to open their doors in 2020 and delivery is available statewide. With more people realizing that they could benefit from medical marijuana, these numbers are only expected to continue to grow in the coming year!