The medical marijuana industry in Missouri is booming by most measures on this April 20, or 4/20 as marijuana鈥檚 unofficial holiday is called.
The state has processed nearly 93,000 medical marijuana cards; the number of dispensaries rose from 20 last year to 80 so far this year; and the industry has in sales since the first dispensary opened in October.
Meanwhile, the number of applications for medical marijuana cards, said Lyndall Fraker, the head of the state鈥檚 medical marijuana division. He said that could be for a variety of reasons.
鈥淲e had stimulus checks go out, some people are already receiving their income tax refunds,鈥� Fraker said. 鈥淪eems like maybe the economy and people getting over COVID, and they鈥檙e getting out a little bit more. Maybe they鈥檙e making a doctor鈥檚 appointment they didn鈥檛 make a year ago.鈥�
The state also has raised a total of about $1.3 million in taxes, and that鈥檚 only expected to grow.
鈥淲e expected, obviously, sales to be really good,鈥� Fraker said. He anticipates the industry will hit $100 million by late summer and up to $200 million by the end of the year.
Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association, said the industry is picking up at a good time.
鈥淲ith us coming out of the pandemic, there being a lot of economic uncertainty 鈥� a new industry coming in Missouri, thriving and creating jobs is good for everybody,鈥� he said.
Cardetti said the industry is growing faster in Missouri than in neighboring Illinois.
鈥淎lready we have more facilities, more dispensaries open than the entire state of Illinois 鈥� even though Illinois is an adult-use market and has twice the population of Missouri,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o in Missouri there is going to be robust patient access.鈥�
Several dispensaries in the St. Louis region planned their grand openings around the industry鈥檚 unofficial 4/20 holiday.
That includes , which opened its third location in The Grove neighborhood of St. Louis on Friday. Jack Haddox, director of Swade dispensary operations, said 4/20 is a big deal this year in Missouri.
鈥淎ll eyes are kind of on the cannabis industry,鈥� he said, for 鈥減eople who maybe are on the fringe, maybe who hadn鈥檛 thought about getting a med card in the past or maybe hadn鈥檛 thought about going to a dispensary. And this gets our name out there on a pretty grand scale.鈥�
Haddox expects sales to increase by 20% to 30%. But with supply still ramping up across the state, he worries about running out of some products, such as cannabis flower.
Another dispensary, called Jane, is expected to open in the Delmar Loop on Tuesday.
Fraker said only about 40% of dispensaries that have received a license from the state are up and running. Others are still constructing their spaces or going through the inspection process.
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