Arkansas has a record year for sales of medical marijuana

Little Rock, Arkansas – The medical marijuana market often experiences an upsurge in sales during the holidays.

In Arkansas, 2022 will see the highest annual marijuana sales volume ever.

Sales of medical marijuana in the state reached record levels last year, especially after pandemic checks were issued.

“As the stimulus funding would hit the state you’d see sales spike,” said Scott Hardin, a spokesperson for the Medical Marijuana Commission.

2022 got off to a slow start, but $24 million worth of purchases were completed in March, which set the stage for a consistently record-breaking year of sales.

Sales in Arkansas are projected to reach a record $275 million this year, an increase of $10 million from the previous year.

Between $20 to 24 million dollars were spent on marijuana by Arkansans each month, with the state collecting $30 million in taxes.

Despite voters passing the medicinal marijuana program in 2016, the first dispensary didn’t open until 2019. Due to two licenses being contested in court, the program has not yet been finished.

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The state reports that more than $23 million was spent by medicinal marijuana patients in November.

The most medical marijuana was purchased in November at Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood, where 463 pounds were exchanged.

17 shops in Arkansas sold more than 100 pounds of marijuana throughout the month.

The lawsuit was returned to civil courts last week by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The Medical Marijuana Commission is unable to issue the final licenses until a decision has been made.

“They’ve made it clear that they want to issue those last two licenses. They took a vote and said they want to get these out the door, so it’s just a matter of having the authority do it,” Hardin explained.

There may only be 40 dispensaries in Arkansas, according to the law.

Nearly 90,000 individuals use medical marijuana, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.