Missouri cannabis patient count plunges with take off of adult use | How to buy Skittles Moonrock online
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Medical patient participation plummeted 87% in 2023, prompting regulators to look closer at the impacts on tax funding for veterans.
Missouriās cannabis industry generated $1.8 billion in combined sales during its first year of adult-use operations, while the medical market saw dramatic declines following recreational legalization, according to the stateās first comprehensive cannabis report.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported adult-use sales reached $929.7 million during the December 2022 through November 2023 program year, with the medical market contributing $890.7 million despite steep enrollment drops.
Medical patient participation plummeted 87% to approximately 109,000 active cardholders, down from more than 205,000 in 2022, prompting regulators to monitor potential impacts on veteransā health care funding, which relies heavily on medical cannabis tax revenue.
āThe implementation of adult-use cannabis resulted in a significant increase in responsibility for DHSS,ā regulators wrote in the report detailing expanded oversight of the combined markets.
The divergent tax structures yielded $45 million from adult-use sales through a 6% tax supporting veterans, substance abuse treatment and public defender programs. Medical sales generated $20.5 million via a 4% tax primarily benefiting veteransā services.
However, some municipalities face legal challenges over additional local tax stacking. The Missouri Court of Appeals is currently weighing whether both counties and cities can impose separate 3% taxes, which in some jurisdictions has pushed total tax rates above 20% when combined with state levies.
The industryās rapid build-out drove workforce growth, with regulators issuing 9,695 new agent identification cards ā an 18.4% increase from 2022. Total cannabis employment has topped 19,000 since April 2020.
DHSS said it hit key implementation milestones ahead of schedule, launching emergency rules by February 2023 and finalizing regulations in July. The department also established its social equity-focused microbusiness licensing program, though regulators recently denied certification for more than half of the applicants in the latest license round over eligibility concerns.
Officials plan to operationalize a state cannabis testing laboratory while expanding public communications initiatives, according to Amy Moore, director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation.
The department transferred $13 million to the Missouri Veterans Commission from medical cannabis revenue during the program year. Just last week, DHSS announced it distributed an additional $5.46 million each to the Veterans Commission, public defender services and substance abuse programs from adult-use revenue, bringing total adult-use distributions to $16.38 million this fiscal year.
According to the stateās sales dashboard, total cannabis sales have exceeded $3 billion since the program began in October 2020. Adult-use sales contributed $1.98 billion to that total, while medical sales account for $1.04 billion.
The data reveals telling market dynamics. Medical sales peaked at $390.23 million in 2022 before falling to $302.27 million in 2023 when recreational sales launched. That decline has continued, with medical sales reaching $135.95 million through October of the current fiscal year, with one month left to report.
Patient enrollment hit a low of 106,627 in December 2023, but it has since rebounded, steadily climbing 9.9% to reach 117,199 as of Septemberās count.
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