Missouri Cannabis Market

[Micheal Alexander]

Missouri became the 32nd state in the country to legalize medical cannabis when voters approved Amendment 2 on the ballot on November 6, 2018.

The measure allows patients with cancer, HIV, epilepsy and other conditions access to marijuana. It also permits use by veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The measure taxes the sale of medical cannabis at 4 percent and allocate revenue from the tax toward providing healthcare services for military veterans. Cannabis Retail Business

The Missouri Department Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began accepting license application fees for medical cannabis cultivation, infused product manufacturing and dispensaries on Jan. 5, 2019. There is a $10,000 fee for a cultivation application, a $6,000 fee for a medical cannabis-infused products manufacturing application and a $6,000 fee for a dispensary application, according to the DHSS application. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) planned to issue 60 cultivation, 86 manufacturing and 192 dispensary licenses. Cannabis Testing Business

Missouri’s medical cannabis program approved over 240,000 patient and caregiver applications in 2022 comparing to about 160,000 in 2021. Medical cannabis sales in Missouri began on October 16, 2020 and reached over $215 million in December 2021 and about $605 million in December 2022.

As of December 2022, a total of 357 (298 as of December 2021) licenses have been approved, including 50 (40) cultivation facilities, 195 (180) dispensary facilities, 78 (51) manufacturing facilities, 8 (8) testing facilities and 26 (19) transport facilities. There were 204,165 patients, 25,013 patient-cultivators, 10,660 agents and 2,803 caregivers.

2022 brought in about $390 million in medical cannabis sales. According to Marijuana Business Factbook, Missouri cannabis market could reach about $525 million in annual medical cannabis sales by 2024.