BOSTON (WWLP) – Recreational cannabis became legal for adults to grow and possess in Massachusetts on December 15, 2016. Nearly two years later, the first two stores opened on November 20, 2018, in Northampton and Leicester.
There are now nearly 150 marijuana retailers in Massachusetts that have sold a total of $883.31 million in products so far this year. Customers must be 21 years or older and have a government-issued ID to purchase recreational marijuana. The law in Massachusetts allows you to carry up to one ounce of marijuana or up to 10 ounces in your home.
According to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control, the monthly average cost of one gram of flower is $5.82 recorded in June. It was $14.68 in January 2020.
To compare in ounces, the monthly average cost per one ounce of flower is $164.95, recorded in June. That is a decrease of $251.14 from sales in January 2020.
Recreational use of cannabis is legal in 23 states:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
Boston ranks as the 8th most-expensive place in the nation for legal cannabis, according to CTAH. The average price of a gram is listed as $10.9. The list contains both legal and illegal sales.
The most expensive legal cannabis in the nation is in Washington, at $19.1 a gram, followed by Seattle ($18.2), and New York ($12.5).
Cannabis is the least expensive in Portland, at $7 a gram, followed by Denver ($7.8), Los Angeles ($8.3), and Las Vegas ($8.9).
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