Missouri’s Recreational Cannabis Sales Off to Strong Start
Missourians voted to pass Constitutional Amendment 3 in 2022 with sales of recreational cannabis beginning in February 2023.
Adding together recreational and medical cannabis, sales in Missouri reached $350 million and is expected to continue to grow, potentially reaching $1 billion by the end of the year (1).
“We didn’t know if Amendment 3 was going to pass,” Nicholas Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis said (1). “Once it did pass, what the industry had expected was a 2.5 times bump in sales. And it ended up being closer to five to six times.” Amendment 3 passed in late 2022 with 53% in favor (2). Medical cannabis was legalized in 2018 with 60% in favor (2).
In comparison, sales in neighboring Illinois reached $300 within seven months of beginning recreational sales and hit $1.6 billion two years later (1).
Increased demand has led to the need for businesses to expand. At the end of February, DHSS had 121 pending requests for facilities, the majority being for cultivation facilities, dispensaries, and manufacturing sites, plus several for transportation and one testing facility (1). “DHSS is in the process of hiring a large amount of new staff to handle the increase in workload associated with the new law,” DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox said (1). “The Division of Cannabis Regulation is about 30% through their hiring plan and expect to be fully staffed by the end of the year.”
References
Ep 24, Part I: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Khan
November 21st 2024Evan Friedmann interviews Yasha Khan, co-founder of MCR Labs, about his journey into the cannabis industry and his efforts to promote transparency and integrity in laboratory practices. Yasha discusses the origins of MCR Labs, which began in Massachusetts to meet the needs of the soon-to-be legal medical cannabis market. He explains the challenges faced, including result manipulation by labs and the impact on public health. Yasha's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) project aimed to gather testing data from 37 states, revealed significant discrepancies in potency and mold results. Despite some states' reluctance to share data, Yasha has made much of this data public, leading to collaborative research and publications on various aspects of cannabis testing.
Assessing Cannabis as a Harm Reduction Strategy: Insights from a Large-Scale Study
November 19th 2024A New Zealand study aimed to assess cannabis use as a harm reduction tool. Findings highlight lifestyle factors, and suggest cannabis-focused harm reduction strategies in reducing other substance use such as alcohol.
Ep 23, Part III: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 24th 2024In Part III of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, to examine the complexities of sampling in the cannabis industry, emphasizing the need for proper sampling plans, and methods.
