Missouri’s first dispensary opened less than one year ago in October 2020 and already, there are more than 140 statewide, with even more on the way.
The new medical cannabis industry in the state boasts around 5,000 employees.
“The sales revenue is pleasantly surprising,” Lyndall Fraker, director of the section of medical marijuana with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, tells Fox 2 Now. “At the end of July, we surpassed $91 million in sales.”
The first day of medical cannabis sales in Missouri was October 17. The medical cannabis ballot measure, Amendment 2, was approved by Missouri voters in 2018. It was the 33rd state to legalize medicinal cannabis, and all medical cannabis sold in the state is grown there, according to Fraker.
He added, “The amendment that was voted on said that we should open the minimum number at least, which was 192 dispensaries. As of today, we have 142 open. We’ve done the math and based on the number of quantities that each patient can purchase each month, how much product it would take to serve the patient base and we think we are going to be good for five or six years.”
Fraker also said that he projects an additional 50 dispensaries could open in the state by the end of 2021. He highlighted the many locations, saying that there is not any place in the state that isn’t at most 50 minutes within a dispensary. “We have 348 facilities that we have licensed. Our first goal is to get all 348 of those operating.
August showed the new cannabis industry generated more than $113 million in sales, and part of Amendment 2 indicates, after expenses are paid, the revenue will go toward the Missouri Veterans Commission.
Fraker said they have transferred $2.1 million over to the veterans last year and are already preparing to make a much larger transfer in the future. He said the department will release that total later in September when the money is transferred. The state adds an additional 4 percent sales tax on all medical cannabis products purchased in the state.
Right now, only half of the number of cultivators are producing in the state, though Fraker said some of the delays are pandemic related. Currently there are 29 open, and the goal is 63 locations, which he said he expects to see most come online within the next three months. Some of the delays have to do with obtaining equipment, building materials, along with larger delays from city government and larger entities.
“There’s quite a lot of product being harvested out there today and it’s serving those 142 dispensaries. Plus, we have about 40 manufacturers that are operating out of the 86,” Fraker said.
In total, there are 248 facilities involved in Missouri’s medical cannabis industry serving roughly 134,000 patients. Fraker expects that number to rise to about 180,000 over the next year.
Patients are also allowed to cultivate their own plants at home as of this year, so long as the seeds are purchased from a dispensary. Patients can have up to 18 plants in their home at a time, though only six of those plants can be mature and produce smokable flower.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson vetoed a bill over the summer that would have allowed medical cannabis business owners to deduct their expenses, but the head of the program in the state indicated that wasn’t enough to stop the booming industry. Fraker says the governor supported it, but there were pieces of the bill he didn’t agree with. The veto session begins September 15, and if it’s not taken up then, it will be addressed next session.
“It’s a huge burden in Missouri to have to pay tax on the full amount of sales and not just the profit of sales which is unlike any other business that I know of,” Fraker said. “All other business can deduct their expenses and then you pay on the profit.”
Looking forward, adult-use cannabis in Missouri could be up next. A local coalition recently filed petitions for the 2022 elections. According to the Secretary of State’s website, Legal Missouri 22 filed an initiative on August 27, and Fair Access Missouri filed two on September 1. Both are currently under the “accepting comments” status.
“Missouri voters are ready for full legalization of cannabis. We’re working to create an open market with low taxes and low barriers to entry by qualifying and passing a robust adult-use constitutional amendment by initiative petition in 2022,” the Fair Access Missouri website says.
