Adult-use sales of cannabis in Connecticut have been underway for only a few months, and already the numbers indicate a remarkable consistency in demand week to week, with the sole caveat that fewer than a dozen dispensaries currently serve the adult-use market.

According to the state regulator, the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), “Adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana totaled more than $13.3 million for the period from Jan. 10, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2023.” January 10 is the date sales commenced.

Despite the launch of adult-use sales, medical cannabis sales outpaced them for the month, though medical did have a 10-day head start. “The adult-use market recorded $5.1 million in sales during the month of January, while the medical marijuana market recorded $8.2 million in sales for the same period,” reported the DCP.

Broken down by week, the sales data shows that medical sales rebounded significantly following the opening week of adult-use sales, most likely because patients were encouraged to stock up on medicine before January 10 to avoid shortages due to the anticipated rush of adult-use sales and a lack of licensed growers in the state.

In contrast, adult-use sales showed no such wavering, and were in fact remarkably consistent throughout the month, varying by only a few thousand dollars between weeks one and two, and by about $60,000 between weeks two and three.

The fourth week of adult-use sales did decrease dramatically, from $1,553,216 to $578,840, but after inquiring from DCP why that happened, we were reminded that it was a shortened week. “January 31 was a Tuesday, so the last week only includes Sunday-Tuesday data,” said DCP.

Interestingly, that explanation brings adult-use sales into harmony for the month. Adding four days of sales to the shortened week would theoretically make adult-use sales consistent for every week of January, at or just above $1.5 million in weekly revenue. A glance at the sales chart provided by DCP visually emphasizes that conclusion.

A few more dispensaries offering adult-use have opened in Connecticut since the January sales data was issued, including the first adult-use-only dispensary in Manchester. The next data dump will be released on or after March 10. It will provide a breakdown of February adult-use (and medical) sales that will either be consistent with January’s sales, indicating a threshold of adult-use demand has been reached, or it will show an increase in sales, pointing to rising demand consistent with a nascent market improving as dispensaries and cultivators come online. A decline in February adult-use sales, on the other hand, could indicate that the draw of Massachusetts’s adjacent and more traditional adult-use market is continuing to take a bite out of Connecticut’s different adult-use (and medical) configuration.

A list of licensed medical and adult-use dispensaries in Connecticut can be found here.