Arkansas medical marijuana sales are down slightly year-over-year through the end of October, according to newly released state data, which shows total cannabis sales for 2024 at $227.8 million, as opposed to $234 million for the first full 10 months of 2023.

According to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the state’s 37 dispensaries sold $23.9 million worth of cannabis in August, followed by $21.9 million in September and $23.4 million in October. While those figures are all up from a summer lull, the actual volume of marijuana products being purchased has increased solidly.

“While the overall spend is down this year, there is a significant year to year increase in total pounds purchased, reflecting lower prices,” Scott Hardin, spokesperson for the ADFA, said in a press release. “We will have to see two extremely strong months in November and December to surpass the 2023 sales record of $283 million.”

Dispensaries sold a combined 19,516 pounds of medical marijuana between August and October, the ADFA announced, including 6,714 pounds in August, 6,196 pounds in September and 6,606 pounds in October.

Total medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have topped $1.2 billion thus far since the market launched in 2019, Hardin said.

The Arkansas cannabis market had a chance to expand even more this year through a proposed ballot measure, but that initiative was nullified even though it appeared on the November ballot, due to a state Supreme Court ruling last month which found that the ballot measure name and title were misleading.

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

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Arkansas medical marijuana sales down year-over-year through October

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