Cannacurio #74: New License Summary 2023 Q1

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Over the last few weeks we have reviewed the new store, grow and manufacture licenses granted in Q1 2023. In this post, we will highlight the overall trends and highlight the changes that took place in Oklahoma when the moratorium finally went into effect. We included April 2023 data for Oklahoma to show the ongoing impact.

Looking at total active licenses for the quarter, the number is down 0.9%. The chart below shows the impact of fewer cultivation licenses being issued and/or not being renewed. The manufacturing industry and shops are showing slight increases.

Key Findings

• 1,619 new Storage, manufacturing and cultivation licenses were added in the first quarter.
• 27 states added stores, 15 additional manufacturing licenses, and only 14 additional cultivation licenses.
• In total Active licenses declined 0.9% in the quarter, and cultivation declined 4.9%. Manufacturing was up 3% and pharmacy/retail was up 4.9%.

activities

cultivation

602 new cultivation licenses were issued by 14 states in the first quarter of 2023. 56% of these were in Oklahoma. However, the emission rate has fallen drastically. Just six new Oklahoma cultivation licenses were issued in April 2023 — accounting for just 3.4% of all U.S. cultivation licenses issued during the month.

manufacturing

A similar story plays out with new production licenses. Oklahoma accounted for 70% of newly issued manufacturing licenses in the first quarter, but like cultivation, the number has been declining every month. In fact, in April (Q2) the number dropped to just four new licenses.

Pharmacy/Retail

In the first quarter of 2023, 680 new pharmacy/retail licenses were issued. Oklahoma was responsible for nearly half. As with cultivation and production, Oklahoma’s emissions rate decreased during the quarter. The downward trend continued into April (Q2) when only six Oklahoma pharmacy licenses were issued.

Oklahoma – The moratorium is coming

Industry watchers have been tracking the effects of the Oklahoma moratorium since it was announced last summer. It was supposed to go into effect on August 1 and was then pushed back to August 26. What makes it special is that it can run for two years or end earlier. It appears that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) must have cleared a large backlog as September 2022 was one of its busiest months for issuing new licenses. The chart below shows the drop from 561 new licenses in January to just a few 16 In April.

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Leaving aside the Oklahoma licenses listed below, it is interesting to note that nearly half (49%) of all licenses issued in the rest of the country were for business. In Oklahoma, the percentage was only 37%. There are no doubt many factors at play – new programs in other states opening stores – but it could also set the stage for Oklahoma’s “export” industry that doesn’t need domestic proliferation.

With Oklahoma’s new licensing process a long way off, we expect California and Michigan to top the leaderboards. We will also monitor new licensing in Alabama as well as progress in New York. Florida has promised new high-fee licenses, and Delaware and Maryland will set up their programs for adult use. We’ll revisit all of these markets as we review the second quarter in July.

Ed Keating is co-founder of Cannabiz Media and oversees the company’s data research and government relations. Throughout his career he has worked with and advised information companies on compliance issues. Ed has led product, marketing and sales while overseeing complex, multi-territory product lines in securities, corporate, UCC, safety, environmental and human resources.

At Cannabiz Media, Ed enjoys the challenge of working with regulators around the world as he and his team gather corporate, financial and licensing information to track the people, products and companies in the cannabis economy.

Ed graduated from Hamilton College and received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School.

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Cannacurio is a weekly column from Cannabiz Media featuring insights from the most comprehensive licensing data platform. Check out Cannacurio posts and podcasts for the latest updates and information.