Missouri Recreational Cannabis Sales Reach $1.2 Billion in First Eleven Months

Missouri’s Division of Cannabis Regulations stated that in the first 11 months since recreational cannabis sales began, Missouri dispensaries sales have reached $1.2 billion, and the state’s trade association estimates total sales to reach $1.3 billion for the year 2023 (1). A portion of the sales, $285 million, came from medical cannabis sales (1). Cannabis for recreational use was legalized in November 2022, with sales beginning in February 2023 (2). Medical cannabis was legalized in the state four years prior to that (2).

Sales are reportedly expected to level out throughout the year, but also increase during the holiday season (3).

Robin Goldstein, director of the Cannabis Economics Group at the University of California, explained to the Missouri Business Alert that licensed dispensaries have used tactics such as holiday packaging for products to compete with the illegal market (3). “That's their (dispensaries’) competitive advantage in the holiday season, nice looking stuff and nice looking products,” Goldstein said (3).

Goldstein also explained that cannabis sales are unpredictable from year to year (3). Sales in the state declined after the summer months and totaled about $112 million in November (3). “This isn't really a new industry,” stated Dan Freund, a co-owner of a dispensary in Farmington, Missouri (3). “We're still growing quite a bit, but the penny is not as shiny as it was a couple of years ago.” Still, some dispensary owners expect to see increases in sales during January, when individuals choose cannabis products instead of alcohol, and in April around the “cannabis holiday” of 4/20 (3).

See our coverage on cannabis sales in Missouri earlier this year.

Interested in the Missouri cannabis industry? Cannabis Science Conference Spring 2024 will take place on May 7-9 in Kansas City, Missouri! Learn more and register your spot here.

References

1. Schmidt, H. Recreational use marijuana sales become Missouri’s newest billion dollar industry in 2023 https://www.kctv5.com/2023/12/21/recreational-use-marijuana-sales-become-missouris-newest-billion-dollar-industry-2023/ (accessed Dec 22, 2023).
2. Kellogg, S. Missouri voters approve Amendment 3, legalizing recreational marijuana https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-11-09/missouri-amendment-3-election-2022-results-legal-weed-recreational-marijuana (accessed Dec 22, 2023).
3. Franco, A. First holiday season with recreational cannabis could bring sales bump for Missouri dispensaries https://www.missouribusinessalert.com/industries/cannabis/first-holiday-season-with-recreational-cannabis-could-bring-sales-bump-for-missouri-dispensaries/article_739d897a-9dee-11ee-9561-6ffc9c1df727.html (accessed Dec 22, 2023).