Arkansas medicinal cannabis sales will surpass last year’s record of $270 million

Arkansas residents spent $23.2 million on medicinal cannabis in July, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. According to the Department of Finance and Administration, this latest spending is expected to surpass the state’s record sales from last year. Treasury Department spokesman Scott Hardin said July sales showed Arkansas will surpass record medical marijuana sales set in 2022, which hit $270 million.

Medical marijuana patients in Arkansas spent $164.6 million on cannabis from January through July 2023, an increase of $7.3 million from the first seven months of 2022. That number accounts for a whopping 5,157 pounds of bud, bringing the year’s total to 34,214 pounds.

“If sales hold steady over the next few months, we will close 2023 with total sales in excess of $280 million,” Hardin said in a press release. “The state raked in $2.5 million in medical marijuana tax revenue in July. That brings the total tax revenue for medical marijuana in 2023 to $18.5 million and $108 million since the first dispensary opened in May 2019.”

Compared to other months, July 2023 ranked fifth in revenue showing that even an impressive $23.2 million isn’t the greatest value Arkansas can brag about. The busiest month of the year is March, which saw $25 million in sales. Hardin shares the state’s lowest-earning month this year is still $22.4 million.

Although sales are increasing, the tax revenues generated do not necessarily reflect the sales figures. For example, the $18.5 million in tax revenue the state earned from sales of medical marijuana through July 2023 is slightly down from 2022 numbers this year, which totaled $18.7 million.

The top-grossing dispensaries, which sold the most medical marijuana, were Suite 443 in Hot Springs, which sold £551.7 in July, and Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood, which sold £462.1.

Arkansas voters legalized medical marijuana through a 2016 constitutional amendment. In 2019, the state’s first dispensaries opened. Since then, as these figures reflect, the number of medical patients has increased gradually and continuously. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, the current figure is 94,059. This number is up from the 88,893 registered cardholders in 2022.

Despite these gains in medical sales, the state of Arkansas has yet to adopt recreational marijuana use. Back in November 2022, voters rejected Issue 4, a measure that would have legalized adult-use cannabis, to the dismay of Arkansas cannabis advocates who had worked so hard to enforce the law.

Supporters of the failed measure were led by Responsible Growth Arkansas, an advocacy group dedicated to drug law reform, prison sentences and health research. The bill would have amended the constitution to allow the possession, personal use and consumption of cannabis by adults 21 and older and to legalize the cultivation and sale of cannabis by licensed commercial establishments.

However, the measure met with criticism. Some complained that it didn’t have erasure provisions and didn’t allow home growing. There were also questions about the manner of implementation. Since it is a constitutional amendment, it would take a lot of work to make these changes later. As a result, even die-hard pro-cannabis reformers weren’t exactly thrilled with Issue 4.

And Arkansas is a conservative state, making any change toward cannabis reform more difficult, even at a time when some conservatives are showing bipartisan support for the legalization of cannabis and psychedelics. State officials such as the Arkansas Secretary of State questioned the validity of the measure.

While supporters submitted more signatures than the proposal required to be allowed to vote, state election commissioners nevertheless rejected the measure on the grounds that the ballot title did not adequately explain what the measure meant to voters.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson even held a joint press conference at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock on October 31, 2022 to oppose Issue 4. “That puts us at a disadvantage.” [the] “If Problem 4 succeeds, we need to shut down the recruiting industry,” Hutchinson said, citing the impact on workplace drug testing.

So currently, Arkansas only has (fairly profitable) medicinal cannabis under Amendment 98. Hutchinson’s concerns about drug testing in the workplace come at a time when changes related to drug testing are sweeping the country.

For example, the Michigan Civil Service Commission recently passed an amendment that would eliminate cannabis drug testing for applicants for many state jobs. This rule would overturn previous state policy that automatically disqualified applicants for state positions who tested positive for cannabis (although some positions still require applicants to pass a marijuana screening before employment).

In addition, in response to bipartisan support in the country, Florida’s Matt Gaetz, contrary to the opinion of Arkansas Republicans, recently proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would eliminate cannabis testing for military personnel.