Medical cannabis sales in Missouri are creeping ever-closer to the $25 million mark. Considering the nascency of the market, which welcomed legal sales in October 2020, these state figures are impressive.

Putting things into perspective, the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association (MoCann Trade) says that the total revenue earned through the state’s medical cannabis program equates to approximately $2 million in weekly sales.

“These encouraging sales figures come as no surprise, but are all the more impressive in a pandemic-stricken economy,” reads a statement from the association’s executive director, as reported by the Associated Press.

To-date, Missouri’s medical cannabis program has enrolled approximately 90,000 patients for state-approved medical cannabis cards. Thousands of other applications are also awaiting review. 

Weekly medical cannabis sales in Missouri reaching $2 million

Missouri’s medical cannabis market recently hit a new milestone, when an industry trade group announced the weekly $2 million sales milestone.

This impressive revenue milestone is based on climbing rates of enrollment, according to MoCann — an organization acknowledged as the “voice of trade for the Missouri medical cannabis industry.”

Specifically, $2.4 million was pulled in from the medical segment for the week that concluded on March 19, following a solid month of sales that racked up close to $2 million each week.

Dispensaries started selling medical cannabis in Missouri in October of last year — two years after legislation was approved by voters in 2018. Cancer, epilepsy and glaucoma are featured on the list of 20+ qualifying conditions.

Although it is still in its early stages, Marijuana Business Factbook analysts predict that Missouri’s medical cannabis market could generate between $225 million and $300 million in sales this year.

Missouri health authorities start confiscating medical cannabis business permits 

The newly-launched market for medical cannabis in Missouri might be doing pretty well so far, but health authorities could seriously dent the industry’s growth. Reports have confirmed that business permits – a type of authorization that enables licensees to cultivate and sell cannabis for patients – are being revoked by state health authorities.

Medical cannabis business permits in Missouri are only valid if business owners have met their “commencement” deadlines, of which many companies requested extensions for. Business launch delays have been attributed to difficulties in raising capital – mainly due to the fact that banking institutions are reluctant to work with companies that are involved with federally illegal substances, like cannabis – and COVID-19 disruptions.

Nonetheless, officials associated with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have said that an extension does not grant business owners the right to waste time in opening their stores.

“Revocations for failure to pass a commencement inspection within the required timeframe may yet be issued for any of the facilities that have received an extension of the original deadline or whose extension requests are still pending,” verified medical cannabis regulators in Jefferson City.