The Data
The numbers
Every figure on this page comes from the State of Connecticut or the State of Maine. Sources are listed under each chart.
Connecticut medical cannabis registrants, January 2023 – July 2026
Medical cannabis patients per 1,000 residents
| Connecticut | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2024 est.) | 3,675,069 | 1,405,012 |
| Medical patients / certifications | 30,505 | 112,547 |
| Per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 80.1 |
| Registered caregivers | 2,591 | 1,539 |
| Latest annual trend | falling | certifications rising 1.8%; caregivers falling 8.2% |
| Registration fee revenue | $0 | $2,519,699 (FY2025) |
Read this comparison carefully
Maine reports patient certifications; Connecticut reports registered patients. The two units are close but not identical, so treat this as an order-of-magnitude difference rather than an exact ratio. The direction of the gap is not in question. We raise the caveat ourselves rather than leave it to be found.
One figure runs against the obvious objection: Connecticut has roughly six times as many registered caregivers per patient as Maine does. Connecticut already has a substantial registered caregiver population from which cultivating caregivers could emerge — though those caregivers are presently pickup-and-assist caregivers rather than growers, so headcount indicates a pool to draw from rather than proven cultivation capacity.
Approved patient certifications by age, 2022-Q4 through 2026-Q1
| Age band | Certifications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | 4,682 | 3.7% |
| 25–34 | 17,408 | 13.8% |
| 35–44 | 26,523 | 21.0% |
| 45–54 | 24,608 | 19.5% |
| 55–64 | 25,951 | 20.6% |
| 65–74 | 20,857 | 16.5% |
| 75–84 | 5,287 | 4.2% |
| 85+ | 740 | 0.6% |
Top qualifying conditions. Post-traumatic stress disorder 59,205 · Chronic pain of at least six months 31,676 · Cancer 11,315 · Chronic neuropathic pain 6,422 · Intractable headache syndromes 5,157.
What a caregiver license would raise
Connecticut currently collects $0 in caregiver registration fees. Move the sliders to test the assumptions yourself.
The default values are the central estimate: roughly 855 licensed caregivers at a weighted average fee of $511, producing about $437,000 a year. The estimated modeled range is approximately $130,000 to $660,000. The fee tiers track Maine’s statutory structure. Under 22 M.R.S. § 2425-A(2)(B), a caregiver registering by plant count pays “not less than $50 or more than $240 for each group of up to 6 mature cannabis plants,” and a caregiver registering by canopy pays not more than $1,500 for 500 square feet of mature canopy or less. Those are ceilings; Maine’s rules implement them at $240 per registry card, or $1,200 annually for up to five patients.
Where it goes. Section 5(b) of the bill divides every fee. Half goes to the Department for administration of the licensing and testing programs, capped at its documented cost, with any excess passed on. Half goes to the Connecticut Compassionate Care Fund, which assists patients and caregivers who demonstrate financial need. No portion of any fee may be used for enforcement — that figure stays at zero whatever the sliders say.
This is gross fee revenue, not net. Medical cannabis is exempt from the sales, excise and municipal taxes under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(120), so patients returning to the medical program reduce other state tax receipts. That offset is modeled in the fiscal materials on the For Legislators page.
For context, Maine's own program is not self-funding: fee revenue of $2,519,699 in FY2025 against $2,897,043 in expenses, a deficit of $377,344 (OCP 2025 MMCP Annual Report, Figure 16). We are not claiming this measure pays for itself.
What counts as a plant
The bill defines three stages. Move the slider to see where a plant falls and what it counts against.
Immature plant
Rooted, not flowering, not more than eighteen inches. Counts against the immature limit.
Counts against: 12 immature per patient
| Stage | Definition in the bill | Counted? |
|---|---|---|
| Propagule | A cannabis seed, or an unrooted cutting | Not counted. Incidental cannabis material |
| Immature plant | Rooted, not flowering, not more than eighteen inches | 12 per qualifying patient |
| Mature plant | Flowering, or exceeding eighteen inches | 6 per qualifying patient |
Propagules are excluded because clones fail. A grower should not lose a plant slot for a cutting that never roots. The definitions are in Section 4(a) of the bill.