Missouri cannabis sales are expected to surpass $1.3 billion in 2023, according to a press release from The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade.)
Even though November marked the fourth month in a row cannabis sales have declined in the Show-Me State, 2023 marijuana sales have reached $1.2 billion through November, and are expected to surpass $1.3 billion by year's end, according to the release.
For comparison, neighboring Illinois, which has twice the population of Missouri, only posted a total of $1 billion in sales in the first year of its adult-use market, according to the release.
The sales figures show strength in Missouri's newest billion-dollar industry, despite some notable setbacks in its first year. The market is still suffering the effects of a multiple-month-long recall that has millions of dollars worth of cannabis products in quarantine. The state regulator is in the midst of a legal battle over the recall, and faces a possible lawsuit from producers if the recall isn't resolved soon.
$4 million in cannabis sales each day
Dispensaries across Missouri have sold nearly $4 million of legal cannabis per day on average since the adult-use market launched in Feb. 2023, according to the release. Nearly 19,000 jobs have been created in the Missouri cannabis industry.
“The economic benefits of legalizing cannabis in Missouri have exceeded expectations,” Andrew Mullins, MoCannTrade executive director, said in the release. “But these benefits also extend to reforming our criminal justice system in Missouri.”
The state saw great strides in expunging past, nonviolent marijuana charges. More than 100,000 past Missouri cannabis offenses have been expunged in 2023, according to the release.
The fact that “part of the 6% tax Missourians pay on adult use cannabis sales funds these second chances is groundbreaking, and we believe a model for the rest of the country,” Mullins said.
Cannabis sales have been more-evenly dispersed across Missouri because it has 212 dispensaries placed all over the state, “compared to most other states where dispensaries are often clustered in a few communities, leaving large swaths of the state without access,” according to the release.
MORE CANNABIS NEWS FROM THE SPRINGFIELD DAILY CITIZEN:
