Cannabis sales in Missouri top $1 billion

Missouri has a new billion dollar industry.

Cumulative marijuana sales reportedly broke that high earlier this month in the Show Me State, just three months after it launched its adult-use marijuana market and almost three years after medical cannabis was legalized in Missouri.

Local news station KOMU reports that “on May 2nd, Missouri surpassed $1 billion in legal cannabis sales,” an impressive milestone spurred by strong recreational cannabis sales.

According to the channel, in the three months since the recreational market launched on Feb. 3, Missouri has “sold $350.2 million, including $256.2 million in adult-use cannabis and $94 million in sales -dollars in medical marijuana.”

Sales of medicinal cannabis in Missouri began in October 2020.

“For comparison, Illinois, which has twice the population of Missouri, sold a total of $188.1 million in adult products in the first three months of January through March 2020,” the channel reported.

Early yields have been promising after the state’s recreational cannabis industry took off in early February.

In that first month, dispensaries in Missouri generated more than $100 million in marijuana sales, with $72 million coming from recreational cannabis sales and $31 million from medicinal cannabis sales.

Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MOCann), said the state’s first month of regulated adult-use cannabis sales eclipsed the start of recreational cannabis sales in neighboring Illinois in 2020.

“That’s more than twice as much as Illinois in a state with twice its population,” said Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, at the time. “So it really shows the interest and enthusiasm for the new adult consumption industry in Missouri.”

“Canna tourists who may choose to come to Missouri to access and use cannabis,” Mullins added. “It also appears to be affecting sales in Missouri.”

Mullins sang a similar tune in comments on KOMU this week.

“Missouri’s newest multi-billion dollar industry is seeing significant job growth, providing great products and services to Missourians and becoming an integral part of the local economy across the state,” Mullins said, as quoted by the news channel. “Missouri avoided so many of the initial problems experienced by other states in transitioning from a medical cannabis program focused on quality, affordability, access and choice. Missouri’s cannabis program couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. A sincere thank you to all of the patients, customers and small business owners who helped Missouri reach this impressive milestone.”

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 last year, which legalized recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older in the state.

The amendment was accepted with a majority of 53% to 47%.

According to KOMU, the state “has now created more than 14,800 direct jobs”. [cannabis] industry, and early indications are that these jobs are paying better than cannabis jobs in many other states.”

The new law has also resulted in the overturning of thousands of previous drug abuse convictions in the state.

The Riverfront Times reported in March that “the majority of overturned convictions to date” have been made [were] Misdemeanors.” At that time, the newspaper reported, state courts had “entered 6,121 criminal convictions for misdemeanors related to non-violent cannabis offenses that did not involve sale to a minor or driving under the influence of cannabis,” while there were also more than 1,200 “felony convictions” were erased.”

Local news station FOX4 reports that as of this week, “more than 31,000 previous marijuana convictions have been overturned.”

“Some of the 6% sales tax that buyers pay on the sale of adult-use marijuana funds automatic tax exemptions. The state assumes that the number of rejected cases will increase rapidly in the coming months.