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One toke over the (state) line for Arkansas

When Missouri voters legalized recreational marijuana in November (and Arkansas voters rejected a similar measure), it was only a matter of time until the results began to impact dispensaries in North Arkansas.

An executive with one dispensary near the border said he has noticed a decrease in business and thinks it could be related to changes across the border. “We have seen a downward trend in terms of just our overall sales, our overall foot traffic,” said Matt Shansky, chief operating officer at the ReLeaf Center Dispensary and Farm in Bentonville.

Shansky said he attributed a portion of the decrease to Missouri’s legalization of recreational marijuana — not just because Arkansas consumers are crossing the border for Show-Me State weed, but also because Missouri consumers are trying the recreational dispensaries at home rather than using visitor patient cards to shop in Arkansas.

In February, Missouri saw its first legal recreational cannabis sales and today boasts 213 dispensaries and 67 cultivators, according to the latest data from the state. Nearly all of the facilities are approved to serve both medical and recreational consumers.

The first month of recreational sales in Missouri was enormous. The state reported $102.9 million in overall marijuana sales with $71.7 million coming from recreational sales and another $31.2 million coming from medical sales in February. In the same month last year, the state reported $26.66 million in medical sales, according to Lisa Cox, communications director for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

[Read more at Arkansas Times]
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