The Arkansas medical marijuana industry continues to grow with sales reaching $141 million between January and June.
According to the Department of Finance and Administration, the $141 million sold in the first half of the year is a 5% increase from the sales during the same period in 2022.
Dispensaries sold nearly 30,000 pounds of marijuana, marking a 23% increase from 2022. The 23% increase in marijuana sold by weight paired with the just 5% increase in revenue generated indicates that prices have seen a significant drop between 2022 and 2023.
The state is well on pace to beat the yearly record of $276 million in sales and a total of 50,547 pounds sold.
With there being just over 94,000 active medical marijuana patients in Arkansas, the average purchase amount between January and June was $1,494 per patient, or around $250 per month.
Although Arkansas legalized medical marijuana through a citizen’s initiative in 2016, the first medical marijuana dispensary didn’t open its doors until 2019.
Last year Arkansas voters rejected an initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana. However proponents have vowed to move forward with the new measure they hope to place on the 2024 general election ballot.
Recently a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge nullified 27 different medical marijuana laws and regulations that were passed by the Arkansas General Assembly since 2017. Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch ruled that in passing the 27 laws that altered the state’s medical marijuana program, the legislature took unconstitutional actions that are not legally valid. Some of those laws include a limit on the amount of THC in medical marijuana products and limits on marijuana advertising.
