Massachusetts Hits $10 Billion Marijuana Sales Milestone, With Top Official Saying Consumption Lounges Will Bolster Industry In 2026

Massachusetts reached a marijuana sales milestone in 2025, with $1.65
billion in adult-use sales for the year—bringing the state’s total legal
cannabis purchases to over $10 billion since the recreational market
launched, officials announced on Thursday.

A top regulator also said that the forthcoming addition of social
consumption lounges could give the industry a further boost in 2026, and
that President Donald Trump’s directive to federally reschedule cannabis
will create more research opportunities in the state.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) released the latest
data on Thursday, while indicating that officials anticipate an even higher
sales record this year as the state prepares to launch a new license
category or social consumption lounges.

When combining recreational and medical sales for 2025, the state saw about
$1.8 billion in legal marijuana purchases for the year. Overall since 2018,
there have been about $10.8 billion in combined medical and recreational
cannabis sales.

“The cannabis industry in Massachusetts continued to mature in 2025 with
the number of cannabis businesses reaching the highest point since
adult-use sales began in 2018,” CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien said in a press
release. “While gross sales remain high, the Commission will look to remove
regulatory hurdles in 2026 through the new Red Tape Removal Committee,
which will help licensees stabilize and plan for the future as the industry
continues to evolve.”

Marijuana Establishments in Massachusetts generated over $1.65 billion in
sales in 2025, setting a new annual record for the Commonwealth’s cannabis
industry. Learn more: https://t.co/8ZLLrTb6VS pic.twitter.com/1mocjXEq5h

— Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (@MA_Cannabis) January 8, 2026

Travis Ahern, executive director of CCC, said that beyond the social
consumption lounge expansion, Trump’s order to move marijuana from Schedule
I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) will bring
benefits to the state.

“Commissioners and staff are hard at work preparing for a potential
expansion of the industry related to social consumption and the prospect of
new research opportunities should the federal government reschedule
cannabis,” he said. “With critical changes on the horizon, the Commission
remains focused on adapting its policies, protocols, and oversight in a way
that continues building out a safe, equitable, and effective cannabis
industry for Massachusetts.”
[image: Sales Dashboard]

Massachusetts marijuana retailers recorded a new annual record of 46.3
million transactions in 2025, CCC said, which is roughly 3.4 million more
than in the prior year.

In the background, Massachusetts election officials have scheduled a
hearing to investigate a complaint challenging the signature gathering
process for a proposed ballot initiative to roll back the state’s marijuana
legalization law.

That came about two weeks after the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s
Elections Division confirmed that the anti-cannabis campaign collected
enough valid signatures to send the measure to lawmakers for consideration ahead
of potentially being placed on the November ballot.

As detailed in the recent complaint, the campaign has been marred with
controversy over allegedly misleading signature gathering tactics. There
have been claims that paid petitioners used fake cover letters for other
ballot measures on issues like affordable housing and same-day voter
registration.

The state attorney general’s office has confirmed it’s received complaints to
that end. And an association of state marijuana businesses urged voters to
report to local officials if they observe any instances of “fraudulent
message” or other deceitful petitioning tactics. The campaign has denied
the allegations.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s (D) office—which cleared
the campaign for signature gathering in September—has stressed to voters
the importance of reading their summary, which is required to go at the top
of the signature form, before signing any petitions.

The Massachusetts legislature received the initiative for consideration on
Wednesday when the 2026 session kicked off. Unless it’s invalidated,
lawmakers have until May 5 to act on the proposal. If they choose not to
enact it legislatively, the campaign would need to go through another round
of petitioning and get at least 12,429 certified signatures by July 1 to
make the November ballot.

Meanwhile, the head of Massachusetts’s marijuana regulatory agency recently
suggested that the measure to effectively recriminalize recreational
cannabis sales could imperil tax revenue that’s being used to support
substance misuse treatment efforts and other public programs.

Massachusetts lawmakers recently assembled a bicameral conference committee
to reach a deal on a bill that would double the legal marijuana possession
limit for adults and revise the regulatory framework for the state’s
adult-use cannabis market.


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CCC has also launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs,
workplace training and networking opportunities in the state’s legal
cannabis industry.

State lawmakers have also been considering setting tighter restrictions on
intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan to allow individual entities
to control a larger number of cannabis establishments.

Also in Massachusetts, legislators who were working on a state budget
butted heads with CCC officials, who’ve said they can’t make critical
technology improvements without more money from the legislature.

Massachusetts lawmakers additionally approved a bill to establish a pilot
program for the regulated therapeutic use of psychedelics. And two
committees have separately held hearings to discuss additional
psilocybin-related measures.

*Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.*

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Official Saying Consumption Lounges Will Bolster Industry In 2026 appeared
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