LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Around the holidays, the medical marijuana industry typically sees an increase in sales.
2022 will be the largest year of marijuana purchases ever in Arkansas.
Last year, the state saw record numbers for medical marijuana as sales increased 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.
After a slow start to 2022, there were $24 million dollars of purchases made in the month of March, which set the tone for a steady year of record sales.
Overall this year, Arkansas is expected to hit a record $275 million dollars in sales— which would be $10 million more than last year.
Arkansans spent between $20 to 24 million dollars on marijuana each month, and the state saw $30 million of that in taxes.
While the medical marijuana program was passed in 2016 by voters, the first dispensary didn't open until 2019. The program has yet to be completed due to two licenses being held up in court.
Other noteworthy mentions for the industry:
According to the state, medical marijuana patients spent more than $23 million in November.
Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood saw the most sales in November with 463 pounds of medical marijuana sold.
Meanwhile, 17 Arkansas dispensaries sold more than 100 pounds for the month.
Last week, the Arkansas Supreme Court sent the case back to civil courts.
Until a ruling is made the Medical Marijuana Commission cannot hand out the last of the licenses.
"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.
Under Arkansas law, there can only be 40 dispensaries in the state.
The Arkansas Department of Health reported almost 90,000 medical marijuana patients.