Missouri made waves in the cannabis space after voters approved Amendment 3 on Nov. 8, 2022, which effectively launched the state’s adult-use cannabis market. The state swiftly moved ahead, legalizing possession of cannabis for adults over 21 on Dec. 22, 2022 and began sales on Feb. 3, 2023, just shy of three months after the initial approval.
And it’s looking like the quick turnaround is working wonders for the state’s blossoming cannabis market. According to the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade), an average of $4 million of legal cannabis has been sold per day since sales launched, a total of $592.3 million in revenue over the past five months. At this rate, experts predict that the state industry will likely top $1 billion in sales by the end of 2023.
Medical sales have been on the decline throughout the year as adult-use sales continue to rise. In December 2022, the state medical market saw $40.3 million in revenue, which sank to $26 million in June 2023.
Looking back at last month, June sales alone totaled $121.2 million between recreational and medical cannabis sales, according to MoCannTrade data. Tax revenue is especially imperative, set to go toward public safety, infrastructure and road improvements and more. And the new cannabis industry is delivering more than just a healthy revenue stream.
MoCannTrade also notes that more than 16,000 direct jobs in the cannabis industry have been created since February, compared to just 8,571 jobs during this time last year, KOMU reports.
“Missouri’s low-adult use cannabis tax, customer-friendly access, and diverse supply of quality products continue to drive great sales across the state this summer,” MoCannTrade Executive Director Andrew Mullins said in a press release on Friday. “Local economies across our state are also benefiting from the more than 16,000 cannabis jobs directly created in Missouri so far.”
As the cannabis industry continues to take shape, job growth is likely to continue increasing. Missouri is also planning to accept applications for cannabis microbusinesses next week, with applications due by Aug. 10. Missouri will award a total of 48 microbusiness licenses, which is also the only new avenue for licensure created by Amendment 3.
Cannabis microbusinesses are licensed to qualified entities and individuals, with a design meant to lift up marginalized and underrepresented individuals to participate in the legal cannabis industry.
Ahead of the move, the state has held a number of outreach events to inform the public about the launch of cannabis microbusiness licenses, which will be approved as part of a lottery system. However, many advocates have questioned whether the structure of the lottery system could exclude social equity applicants.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) also signed public safety legislation earlier in July that will allow the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), which oversees the state’s cannabis program, to share inspections and other information needed by banks to serve cannabis businesses. Since the DHSS didn’t previously have this authorization, banks were left to repeat the work the department had already completed to meet federal financial guidelines, and not all banks are equipped to do so.
Missouri joins a number of other states that have recently hit record-high cannabis revenue numbers. Michigan sales reached a record of nearly $261 million in June, according to state data; Massachusetts cannabis sales reached nearly $152 million in June according to state data, setting a record monthly high following the state’s November 2018 recreational market launch; and six months after launching its adult-use market, Connecticut hit a record-high of $24 million in monthly sales for June, according to state data.
