The cannabis market in Maine, and especially Portland, faces the threat of oversaturation.
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John Kreis, owner of adult-use cannabis dispensary Portland Greenhouse, already fears market saturation in the still-nascent industry, as well as competition from the less regulated medical marijuana sector.
“I went into it thinking there would be lines up the street. It hasn’t been that way,” Kreis said. “It’s hard to say how the year will be. There are so many moving parts. It changes from week to week.”
The adult-use cannabis dispensary on Spring Street opened in the Old Port in September.
“A lot of stores have opened in Portland. It’s going to be a very saturated market,” Kreis said.
Kreis said he was already worried about market saturation in Portland when the city first proposed rules that would have restricted the market to 20 retail licenses. Then, voters passed a referendum that eliminated that cap, as well as a required buffer zone between competitors.
Portland Greenhouse now shares a wall with another dispensary, Stage Cannabis. The two stores are trying to work together to market themselves as a cannabis destination in the city.
“Bard Coffee is right across the street from Starbucks. There’s a way for more than one store to survive. We’re trying to make ourselves the ‘cannabis corner’ and appeal to a wider swath of people. Our stores have very different vibes and have something for every taste,” Kreis said.
With products from medical marijuana dispensaries costing about half as those from recreational use stores, there’s price pressure and competition, Kreis said.
“This is what we’re up against,” Kreis said.
In 2021, Maine’s recreational cannabis industry brought in more than $72 million, according to data released by the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy. The adult-use market, launched in Maine on Oct. 9, 2020, is still dwarfed by the more mature medical cannabis market, which generated $250 million in sales in 2020.
“I spent a fortune to get a store open. I think we’ll be one of the stores that survive, we’re not getting set up for success. There will be some store failures,” Kreis said.