In July, Arizona's reeling medical cannabis market dropped below 100,000 qualifying patients, bringing into stark relief the steady decline of the medical program as the adult-use, recreational market continues to dominate.
Arizona also cemented its place in the hierarchy of states with legalized cannabis, coming in eighth in sales for the first six months of 2024, though it hit a two-year low in June.
According to reports by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the total number of registered cannabis patients in the state dropped from 100,753 in May to 97,610 in June and further to 94,754 in July.
When recreational sales began in January 2021, there were nearly 300,000 qualifying patients in Arizona's original cannabis market in 2012 after the passage of Proposition 203 in 2010.
A commensurate drop in sales has followed, with the Arizona Department of Revenue reporting that medical sales dropped below $20 million for June to $18.2 million after reaching only $20.7 million in May.
The best month for medical sales was April 2021, with revenues of $73.4 million, but the market has been on a downward trajectory in the ensuing three-plus years.
In June, Arizona medical cannabis consumers purchased 4,390 pounds of marijuana in various forms, down from 4,764 reported in May; purchases dipped further in July to just 4,285 pounds. Year-to-date total sales in pounds so far is 32,972 pounds.
The recreational market dropped about $12 million in sales from $85.8 million in May to $73.8 million in June, the lowest total since February 2022, when sales were around $73 million. June was also the first month in which recreational cannabis dropped below the $80 million threshold since June 2022, when it hit $77.9 million.
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