Decline in Medical Cannabis Patient Participation
- In the most mature adult-use cannabis markets with medical cannabis programs (i.e., Colorado and Oregon), patient-saturation rates fell significantly once adult-use sales began.
- With long lags between legalizing medical cannabis programs and adult-use sales, both Colorado and Oregon saw patient saturation rise to 2%.
- Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont had significantly shorter time frames between legalizing medical programs and adult-use sales, resulting in peak patient-participation rates roughly half of Colorado’s or Oregon’s.
- Unique regulatory structures for medical and adult-use cannabis sales meant different degrees of incentives for registered patients to remain in medical programs.
- Variables may include: tax rates (and prices), costs of medical card renewals and doctor’s visits, product availability across markets, and purchase/possession limits.
