On November 8, 2016, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 98 which legalized cannabis for medical use by suffering patients in the state. The measure was approved by 53% of Arkansas voters, making Arkansas the 33rd state in the United States to adopt a medical cannabis legalization measure. In 2017, the Arkansas Legislature made various revisions to the amendment.
After several delays, the first legal medical cannabis purchase was made in Arkansas on May 11, 2019. The average reported price on opening day ranged from $395 to $420 an ounce.
In mid-April 2024, the State of Arkansas’ medical cannabis program surpassed the 100,000 patient milestone.
“In its latest update on April 13, the state Department of Finance and Administration reported 102,222 active cards, an increase of more than 8,000 from the 93,977 active cards a year ago.” the Arkansas Times stated in its initial coverage. Arkansas is home to 38 medical cannabis dispensaries according to the Arkansas Times’ reporting.
For contextual purposes, below are the patient counts of other states according to the Marijuana Policy Project:
- Arizona – 127,162
- Florida – 831,775
- Pennsylvania – 712,421
- Utah – 71,850
Total legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach $31.4 billion in 2024 according to a recent analysis by Whitney Economics. Additionally, leading cannabis jobs platform Vangst, in conjunction with Whitney Economics, estimates that the legal cannabis industry now supports 440,445 full time-equivalent cannabis jobs in the United States.
Whitney Economics also projects the following legal cannabis sales figures in the United States for the coming years:
- 2024: $31.4 billion (9.1% growth from 2023)
- 2025: $35.2 billion (12.1% growth from 2024)
- 2030: $67.2 billion
- 2035: $87.0 billion
The emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States is projected to add roughly $112 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024 according to a newly released analysis by MJBiz Daily. The projection is part of the company’s 2024 MJBiz Factbook.
“The total U.S. economic impact generated by regulated marijuana sales could top $112.4 billion in 2024, about 12% more than last year,” MJBiz stated in its initial reporting.