Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas could set new record

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas are on track to set a new record this year, state officials said.

From January through June, patients spent $141 million to buy a little more than 29,000 pounds of marijuana, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

That’s up from $134 million in the first six months of 2022.

If the upswing continues, sales will pass $280 million in 2023. Arkansas’ previous high for medical marijuana sales was $276 million last year.

The state’s medical marijuana industry has “flourished” since its inception, said Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Arkansas voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana. The first dispensary in the state opened in 2019. Medical marijuana sales have brought in a total of $105 million in tax revenue to the state.

Voters last year rejected a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana.