Green Surge: Missouri is expected to surpass their marijuana sales this year after their first full year of legal recreational cannabis sales

Recreational cannabis profits have reached over $1.3 billion since its legalization in Missouri last February, partly due to Kansans crossing the border to purchase, while retailers hope for more profit this year.

While there had been a pre-existing market for medical-use marijuana, over $72 million of the state’s gross profit came from adult recreational sales due to the recent legalization, according to KCUR. 

Senior Ayden Beveridge-Calvin has observed increased marijuana use through family members.

“[Marijuana sales] were able to grow like wildfire because people tried it and then convinced other people to try it,” Beveridge-Calvin said. “Then the people who were already smoking it before it was legal are now doing it even more.”

Junior Benjamin Andrews* has noticed a large portion of Kansas residents going into Missouri to purchase marijuana on a regular basis. He feels this is a main contributor in sales in Missouri.

Local dispensaries such as Fresh Karma, located in Kansas City, are aiming to surpass last year’s sales, according to Fresh Karma’s retail director, Geordie Pollock. With the combination of an expanding market, fair pricing, a good geographic location and a wide product range, Pollock says they’re on track to achieve this goal. 

“[Lawmakers] did a good job as far as what’s available and the pricing is pretty good here by comparison,” Pollock said. “But being in the center of the country is huge.”

With seven of its eight bordering states banning recreational cannabis sales, those living in bordering states have resorted to purchasing marijuana products in cities along Missouri’s border.

“As far as IDs go we see them from a lot of different places,” said Pollock. 

The growing popularity and demand of cannabis products is also playing a large role in the continued increase of sales. Pollock believes this is partially due to people finding the less-addictive nature of some cannabis products appealing compared to other harsher drugs. 

“I think a lot of folks have found [cannabis products] are a good alternative or method for them to relax at the end of the day,” Pollock said. “It’s a good alternative to pharmaceuticals [or] alcohol and it’s helped people to get off of pharmaceuticals and other dangerous things.”

Sales are forecasted to increase each year. This would make Missouri a top 10 contributor to cannabis sales in the United States out of the 25 states that currently allow the sale of recreational marijuana. 

Of the four states that legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, Missouri had the highest sales, according to MJBizDaily. Andrew Rayl works at a company that sells legal and recreational marijuana across the US and believes that Missouri could be a contender for the top sales spot in the United States if the level of demand continues to grow. 

The extraordinary numbers can’t be fully attributed to in-state buyers, however. “Canna-tourism” has been a key factor in the influx of sales and will continue to cushion the market, according to KCUR. 

Rayl says the law enforcement level in Missouri will set the stage for economic growth in recreational marijuana sales.

“I know that the department of health [in Missouri] has done an excellent job of crafting and rolling out their regulations,” Rayl said. “Some would say they’re being a little too heavy-handed with their enforcements and interpretations of some of the regulations on the sale of cannabis, takes and products but my experience in other states is that that is exactly what leads to a more successful model [for selling cannabis]. It tends to squash out the dominance of the illicit market.”

The demand for marijuana has grown immensely with Kansas City’s second most googled “near me” search in 2023 being “Dispensary near me,” according to KC Today. 

“I work in Missouri and all throughout the city there are ads for this random CBD place or this random dispensary,” Beveridge-Calvin said. 

The American Trade Association for Cannabis and HEMP argues the sales are beneficial for Missouri saying cannabis businesses pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes each year to improve the state. Retailers like Pollock see this as a reason to keep recreational cannabis products legal and a way to further promote their businesses. 

“I’d expect [the Missouri cannabis market] to grow exponentially,” Rayl said. “It’s been a boom year for them.”