What’s the State of the Cannabis Economy in Brookline?

More than five years after the opening of Brookline's first recreational marijuana dispensaries, the town is now reporting a marked decrease in sales revenue. 

According to a Brookline.News report, the sales tax revenue that the town has received from recreational dispensaries has dropped substantially since 2020, the first full year of recreational cannabis sales, when Brookline recorded a significantly large proportion of retail operators in the Greater Boston area. 

During this first year, Brookline received $1.84 million in local taxes generated from cannabis sales. In fiscal year 2024, this figure decreased to $386,574 — even as the state saw record sales — with fiscal year 2025 sales being substantially lower. 

In an email to Brookline.News, Melissa Goff, deputy town administrator, said that town officials believe that the revenue decline has resulted from increased competition in the region. This competition shows up with the falling costs for marijuana — something that cannabis retailers in Brookline have experienced in various ways.

“The market is definitely oversaturated,” said John Hauck, who opened Comm Ave Canna with his wife and sons, JB and Garret Hauck, in 2023. “Buyers have so many opportunities, and so many shops are closed.”

According to a Boston Globe report, Brookline initially had one of the country's busiest cannabis stores in 2019. At that time, the New England Treatment Access became the first dispensary in Greater Boston to begin adult-use sales, along with its medical marijuana operation. 

By 2021, the town had anticipated a reduction in sales growth, due to cannabis shops opening across the region. Additionally, the recreational marijuana industry was negatively impacted when Massachusetts suspended recreational cannabis sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Massachusetts has followed a nationwide trend of market oversaturation, with many dispensaries closing or surrendering licenses. In early 2025, a record 23 dispensaries did not renew their licenses, according to the Boston Business Journal.