In December, adult-use marijuana sales in Missouri reached a monthly record. This means that the total cannabis sales in 2023 will be more than $1.3 Billion.
The state’s recreational cannabis sales last month reached $106.5 million. This is a record high, surpassing the previous record of $98.7 millions set in July.
Since the beginning of cannabis sales for adults 21 years and older in February last year Missouri has recorded almost $1.04 billion total adult-use sales.
According to the latest available data, the Division of Cannabis Regulation of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has recorded a total of $1.94 billion in cannabis sales for Missouri. This includes both medical and adult use.
The medical marijuana market has slowed down over the past year. In December, they reached $16.8 millions–close to their lowest monthly sales amount since 2023. This is also a far cry from the $40.3million in sales dispensaries recorded a year ago.
In many states as well, the medical sale has declined since more adult-use shops have opened. In Missouri, the number of patients and caregivers enrolled in Missouri’s medical cannabis system has decreased during the first year that adult-use sales have been legal. In the medical marijuana program, there were 106 627 patients registered as of last month, down from 204 165 a year ago.
Officials are working to implement changes in the criminal justice system as the state nears the first anniversary of the legalization of adult-use marijuana. In a letter sent to lawmakers earlier this month, the state courts requested an additional $3.7million for expunging old cannabis-related criminal record. They noted that many older records were not digitized, and required manual processing. The courts received an initial $4.2 million for the completion of the process.
Bryan Feemster, Greene County Circuit Court Clerk, said: “We’re looking at every criminal record from 1989 onwards to see if there’s anything in there that could qualify.” It is, as one might expect, a very tedious and slow process.
Valerie Hartman is the spokeswoman of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court. “We do not have any information, nor an estimate as to how many more drug cases are awaiting our review.”
The law has led to the deletion of over 100,000 marijuana cases from court files.
Before Missouri’s new session of the legislature, however, a Democratic legislator has filed a pre-filed bill that would prohibit police from using only the smell of pot as the basis for a warrantless property or vehicle search.
The one-page document states that “the mere odor of marijuana shall not be sufficient to provide an officer of law enforcement with probable cause for a warrantless search in a vehicle, home or any other private property.”
A pair of Republicans introduced a measure that would cut workers’ compensation awards by half if an employee tested positive for marijuana, regardless of whether they were responsible for the accident.
A Division of Cannabis Regulation report published earlier this month found that over 40 percent of licensees listed on the applications for the state’s social equality marijuana licenses were issued in October came from outside Missouri.
Abigail Vivas oversees the microbusiness program of the state. She said that it doesn’t really matter how people apply, whether they are part of a large group or just one application. “We will look at all of the information to make sure that these grants are given to those who are truly eligible.”
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The article Missouri sold more than $1.3 billion worth of legal marijuana in 2023, state figures show first appeared on Marijuana moment.
