The rate at which cannabis businesses are surrendering licenses has picked up rapidly in the past year as the industry faces economic and regulatory headwinds.
Since last September, four retail licenses have been either surrendered, not renewed or revoked. In the entire five years since the legal cannabis industry sparked up in Massachusetts prior to September 2023, just five licenses had been surrendered by local businesses.
On the non-retail side — which includes manufacturers and growers — 26 non-retail licenses have been surrendered, revoked or not renewed over the past year. Over the previous five years, only 11 such licenses were surrendered.