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 III: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Kahn
December 26th 2024In the final part of this episode, Evan Friedmann and Yasha Kahn discuss the need for a national entity to centralize cannabis data collection, moving from snapshot data to continuous updates. They emphasize the importance of accurate lab data and adverse event tracking, suggesting QR codes on packaging to report issues. Yasha suggests harsher consequences for result manipulation and suggests collaboration between state departments and federal entities to support underfunded regulators. They also discuss the potential benefits of off-the-shelf testing and the importance of stability testing. Finally, Yasha shares his top three reading recommendations for the audience.
Ep 24, Part II: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Kahn
December 12th 2024Evan Friedmann and Yasha Kahn, co-founder of MCR Labs, discuss the discrepancies between current regulations and data on mycotoxins and pesticides in cannabis products. They highlight the need for updated regulations based on new data, emphasizing the importance of accurate testing and labeling. They also discuss the issue of result manipulation, particularly in THC content, and the need for public health officials to address this. Yasha suggests making testing data public to enhance oversight and suggests a national entity to manage this data for better consistency and public safety.
