Good news for the medical marijuana industry in Missouri. In its first full year of operation, Missouri’s cannabis industry accounted for almost one out of every 10 new jobs statewide. These 2021 statistics are from Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association.
MoCannTrade (The Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association) is an association of business owners, health care providers, professionals, patients and residents responsible for helping to implement a successful, safe, compliant medical marijuana program in Missouri.
Under Missouri’s constitution, residents who have cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, and 20 other conditions, can purchase or cultivate medical marijuana with a physician’s certification.
And the big picture is even more impactful on the state’s economy. The Missouri medical marijuana industry has drawn nearly 170,000 registered patients and caregivers while exceeding $200 million in retail sales in 2021.
Now, new storefronts and facilities are even popping up in small towns across the state, adding more cannabis jobs on the daily.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has to date approved the opening of 322 facilities. This is including 185 dispensaries, 63 infused product manufacturers, and 46 marijuana cultivation facilities.
DHSS has licensed and certified a total of 386 facilities to cultivate, manufacture, test, transport and dispense medical marijuana to Missouri patients.
This is ultimately just the beginning of the rise in cannabis jobs across the state. Activists and industry leaders alike are pushing for legislation change in Missouri, including the most recent “Cannabis Freedom Act” sponsored by Rep. Ron Hicks (R). The new bill advanced out of the House Public Safety Committee on a narrow vote late last month. According to Marijuana Moment, it has now been approved by the Rules – Legislative Oversight Committee in a 6-4 vote.