A year after the adult-use cannabis market was legalized in Connecticut, the state is seeing a shortage of cannabis. Several cannabis companies have emailed customers about a shortage of cannabis flower, which is the plant material used to roll joints.
One email from a Connecticut cannabis retailer, Fine Fettle said, “We are currently facing a flower shortage in the state due to limited product availability from our suppliers.”
Another Connecticut-based retailer, The Botanist, sent an email to customers that said, “We are writing to inform you about a current challenge that we are facing statewide — a product shortage that has impacted our inventory levels.”
According to Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection, the shortage can be linked to issues of supply and demand. Kaitlyn Krasselt, department spokesperson, said in a statement to CT Insider, “The limited variety was exacerbated by increased demand over the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.”
“Retailers experienced heavy traffic with the holidays and the record sales in our December data support that,” she said.
She said department data from December show increased demand over the holidays.
Consumer Protection December cannabis sales data says sales for adult-use and medical marijuana totaled $27.5 million. The adult-use market made $17.1 million in sales and the medical-use market made $10.3 million.
Connecticut has just six fully licensed cultivators. A cultivator is an entity that is “licensed to cultivate, process and package marijuana, to deliver marijuana to marijuana establishments and to transfer marijuana to other marijuana establishments, but not to consumers.” According to the state of Connecticut’s website, “A licensed cultivator may cultivate, grow and propagate cannabis at an establishment containing not less than 15,000 square feet of grow space.”
The cultivators send their products to 32 dispensaries around the state.
The director of the Department of Consumer Protection, Rodrick Marriot, said in January, “We’re hoping we’re going to have some new cultivation come online in the coming months, early in ’24 to help alleviate some of those concerns.”
The market is still new in Connecticut and state officials say they hope to get more cultivators in the coming months to help with the shortage.
At the university, multiple online cannabis programs are available that include cannabis healthcare and medicine, cannabis agriculture and horticulture, the business of cannabis, cannabis compliance and risk management. Once the course is completed, you earn a certificate of completion from the university.
“It helped me better understand the business aspect of cannabis and gave me important knowledge that I can use going forward into future job opportunities,” said Michael T. on New Haven’s cannabis education website.
According to New Haven’s cannabis education website, more people joining the field of cannabis cultivation, retail, extraction and product development can help Connecticut navigate future shortages just like any other industry.