Arkansas generated less cannabis revenue in 2024 than the previous year despite dispensaries seeing a bump in total products sold, KNWA reports.
Arkansas dispensaries sold $275.9 million of medical cannabis in 2024, down from the state’s annual sales record of $283 million, set in 2023. But while retailers sold more products overall — patients purchased 75,598 pounds of cannabis in 2024, up about 20% from the 62,227 pounds dispensed the previous year — overall revenue dropped, the result of lowering prices throughout the industry.
The state earned over $31 million in medical cannabis taxes last year from a 6.5% sales tax ($15.97 million) and 4% privilege tax ($15.19 million), the report said.
Last month, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said she intends to use medical cannabis tax revenue to fund free school meals in the state.
Medical cannabis advocates last year submitted a petition with several changes to the state program including home grow rules, telemedicine certifications, and allowing more medical professionals to certify people for the program. However, while advocates gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, the state Supreme Court nullified the measure, ruling that it was “misleading” because the initiative failed to properly inform voters it would have stripped lawmakers’ ability to change the state’s 2016 constitutional amendment legalizing medical cannabis.
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