Missouri marijuana sales reached a record $126 million in marijuana sales in March, the second month since adult-use shops opened in the state after voters approved legalization at the ballot last November.
The $126.2 million comes from combined medical cannabis purchases ($32.7 million) and recreational sales ($93.5 million) in March. That’s a 22.4 percent increase over February’s cannabis sales total of $103 million.
Via Division of Cannabis Regulations.
At this rate, Missouri is positioned to reach $1 billion in collective cannabis sales before the end of the year, according to a projection by Greenway Magazine.
The cumulative sales total for the whole history of the medical marijuana program and the nascent recreational market is also nearing the separate milestone of $1 billion, as it currently sits at $871.4 million.
Missouri’s Division of Cannabis Regulations also said on Thursday that more than 14,000 direct jobs have been created in the marijuana sector as of March, according to the industry association MoCannTrade. Regulators have been regularly tracking jobs growth in the industry.
“Between record cannabis sales and local communities voting to embrace the economic benefits of adult use sales, Missouri couldn’t be better positioned to make a real and lasting impact on our state economy, while being one of the most customer-friendly cannabis programs in the entire nation,” MoCannTrade Executive Director Andrew Mullins said in a press release.
The industry’s economic impact is expected to keep growing, especially after voters in dozens of cities and counties across the Show-Me State approved local marijuana tax initiatives at the ballot this week.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has received praise for quickly standing up a regulated adult-use market, which it started planning for even before last November’s election.
In early February, regulators cleared the first dispensaries to start selling marijuana to adult consumers and began accepting applications for people to grow their own cannabis at home.
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Missouri isn’t the only state touting strong marijuana sales as markets across the U.S. continue to come online and mature.
The governor of New Mexico recently marked the one-year anniversary of the state’s adult-use marijuana market, touting its more than $300 million in sales since last April as well as the thousands of jobs the cannabis industry has created.
In Arizona, the year-end total for 2022 adult-use cannabis purchases reached $1.4 billion.
In Massachusetts, the state’s recreational market officially exceeded $4 billion in sales in January after launching in 2018.
Conversely, a top Wisconsin senator recently released a legislative analysis that showed just how much money her state lost out to Illinois last year, with Wisconsin residents who lack a regulated market going across the border and spending more than $121 million on marijuana.
Back in Missouri, the House is also one step closer to passing a bill that would legalize psilocybin therapy for certain patients while promoting research into the psychedelic and expanding the scope of the state’s existing “Right to Try” law for seriously ill people.
After receiving initial consideration in the chamber last week, the legislation’s next step would be to get a final vote in the House and then potentially head to the Senate.
The post Missouri Marijuana Sales Hit $126 Million In March, State Data Shows, With Market Expected To Reach $1 Billion By Year’s End appeared first on Marijuana Moment.