Each week, Florida’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), which is part of the state’s Department of Health, releases data on the program, including an active patient count, a qualified physician count, new approvals and an update for each dispensary. That data includes the number of dispensaries and the weight of sales each week. This is the second New Cannabis Ventures article in what we expect will provide updates every month. This article is based upon the update that was provided Friday as of 5/02. Readers who are interested in the data going forward can visit the OMMU update page.
Patient Growth Is Slowing
In the article three weeks ago, we discussed that the patient growth was slowing, and it has continued to slow. In the week ended 5/2, it grew at a record-low rate of 7.8% annually, down from the 8.4% growth for the year ending 4/11. There are 880K patients, which is almost 4% of the state’s population.
Unit Growth Remains Strong
In that first article, we pointed to the unit growth being stronger than the patient growth. This past week, Florida dispensaries sold 336.7 million mgs of THC, up 14.0% from a year earlier. They also sold 108,628 ounces of smokable flower, up 7.3% from a year earlier. Both of these were slower growth than three weeks ago, and the THC product growth is faster than the patient growth. We continue to view this as a sign that pricing pressure in the state is strong.
Conclusion
Florida’s medical cannabis market has seen very strong growth in the number of patients and the number of stores, but, as we have reported, the revenue growth has been slowing. In February, it was a record low 5.8% as we reported. We will be providing a March update soon. The medical market looks to be very mature, and hopefully the voters in the state will approve adult-use legalization in the November elections.
