Maryland’s medical marijuana industry is thriving but after years of growth, it may be at its slowest now.
Despite revenues hitting $600 million, data from state regulators has revealed that the number of medical cannabis patients in Maryland has been growing at its slowest rate since the program kicked off sales in 2017.
Will Tilburg, executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, or MMCC, recognized the slowdown in patient growth, but said it’s part of the industry’s natural course.
“When a market matures, there is less rapid growth,” Tilburg said.
The MMCC publishes data every two weeks on the number of patients in its program.
In the first three months of the year, Maryland’s medical cannabis program grew by fewer than 4,000 total patients.
Patients are automatically dropped from medical cannabis registration after three years if they don’t register. As of April 1, the total number of patients was just over 152,000.
According to Tilburg, the number of new patients isn’t slowing down but it is that patients are not renewing their registration.
“Most patients are not using it indefinitely,” he said.
In 2021, state regulators reported that industry revenue hit about $600 million. Jake Van Wingerden, head of the Maryland Wholesale Medical Cannabis Trade Association, said that number is expected to more than triple to $2 billion whenever the state creates an adult-use industry.
