Combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales in Arizona totaled $1.43 billion last year, AZ Mirror reports. Adult-use sales reached $1.1 billion while medical cannabis sales totaled $348 million.
It’s the third consecutive year legal cannabis sales in Arizona hit $1.4 billion.
Adult-use sales accounted for 76% of the state market in 2023, up from 70% the year prior and 45% in 2021, the first year of adult-use sales in the state, the report says. Medical cannabis sales totals are at record lows, comprising less than a third of the state’s cannabis sales total.
The state collected $172.8 million in adult-use excise taxes in 2023, which is split between public safety (31%), the Highway User Revenue Fund (25%), and the Justice Reinvestment Fund (10%).
The state Department of Health Services reports a steep decline in registered medical cannabis patients in the state since the passage of the adult-use law. In February there were 111,168 qualifying medical cannabis patients, down from 113,694 in January, and 115,914 in December. February’s total marks a near 63% decrease from the 299,054 registered patients enrolled in the state medical cannabis program at its height. Medical cannabis patients pay a 6% tax on sales while adult-use cannabis products carry a 16% excise tax in addition to the state’s 5.6% sales tax.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe