New recreational cannabis markets are seeing quicker starts to sales

As public opinion changes and state regulators learn from those who have gone before them, the time it takes from the approval of medical marijuana by voters or lawmakers to the first recreational sales in a market is getting shorter.

That could bode well for new adult-use markets that take root in the months and years ahead. And it would stand in sharp contrast to states such as California.

That state was the first to approve medical marijuana in 1996 – thanks to a voter-passed initiative. But it took California another 22 years before cannabis retailers rang up the state’s first recreational sales in January 2018 – after voters passed another initiative.

That state was the first to approve medical marijuana in 1996 – thanks to a voter-passed initiative. But it took California another 22 years before cannabis retailers rang up the state’s first recreational sales in January 2018 – after voters passed another initiative.