Last Fall, when Michigan regulators announced plans to open recreational cannabis licenses to non-medical license holders, medical dispensary owners griped that their customer base, registered cannabis patients, was declining too fast. Looking back on a year of data, it seems they were right: About 12% of registered Michigan marijuana patients gave up their cards between September 2019 and September 2020. But now the drop off seems to have leveled off.
Meanwhile, Illinois is adding about 5,500 new medical marijuana patients every month, as registered patients avoid the hefty 10-25% extra sales tax for recreational cannabis. And Missouri is adding an average 6,600 new registered patients every month, as the state’s relatively loose patient requirements make it easy for Missourians to access the state’s newly launched medical cannabis program.
