Missouri medical cannabis industry marks first year of sales, looks ahead to 2022
With this weekend’s anniversary of the state’s first-ever retail marijuana sale, Missouri’s medical cannabis industry is celebrating a year of exponential growth — and anticipating an even more robust 2022.
“After starting from scratch and clawing through the unprecedented challenges of an extended global pandemic, our industry has quickly made its mark on the state’s economy, creating more than 5,000 new jobs and generating an anticipated $200 million in annual revenues,” said Andrew Mullins, executive director of The Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade).
“Nearly 150,000 Missouri patients and caregivers have safe, convenient and reliable access to a wide array of products from the more than 150 retail outlets approved to operate statewide,” Mullins added. “That access and affordability will only continue to increase as the state’s remaining license holders come online later this year and in 2022.”
St. Louis-area cancer patient Larry Simpson made history on Oct. 17, 2020, with the first legal marijuana purchase in Missouri at N’Bliss Cannabis in Manchester. The first legal sale in the Kansas City area occurred two days later at Fresh Green Dispensaries in Lee’s Summit.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services has issued licenses for nearly 200 dispensaries, 62 cultivation sites and 89 manufacturing facilities to operate in Missouri, giving medical cannabis patients here greater access than in each of the other 19 states with similar programs.
As of Oct. 8, DHSS has approved 152 dispensaries, 45 manufacturing sites and 37 cultivation sites for operation.
Medical cannabis patient and caregiver enrollment in Missouri also continues to see consistent increases, with 146,756 Missourians now licensed by the state.
The state also reports issuing another 5,210 of the required state agent ID cards to work in medical cannabis facilities. All but 200 of those jobs have been added in the past 12 months.
Under Article IX of the state Constitution, Missouri residents with qualifying conditions including cancer, epilepsy and glaucoma can purchase or cultivate medical cannabis with a physician’s certification.
The law also provides physicians with the discretion to certify patients who have other chronic and debilitating medical conditions that could benefit from medical marijuana, and legally protects their right to have such conversations.
Map of Missouri dispensaries: http://