Arkansas medical marijuana sales set a new record in 2023 with a 2.53% increase over 2022, and the number of Arkansans with active marijuana patient cards rose 8.4% in 2023, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).
The DFA reported posted Tuesday (Jan. 9) shows that medical marijuana sales totaled $283 million for the year, up from the previous record of $276 million in 2022. The state’s 38 dispensaries sold 62,227 pounds of marijuana in 2023, well above the 50,547 pounds in 2022. The state has licensed eight cultivators to provide product to the dispensaries.
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 97,374 active patient cards as of Jan. 9, up 8.4% from 89,855 at the end of 2022.
“In late 2023, Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry surpassed $1 billion in total sales since the first dispensary opened for business,” DFA spokesperson Scott Hardin noted in a statement. “From $31 million in sales in 2019 to $283 million in 2023, the industry has grown each year. The $25.6 million spent in December was the largest monthly amount in 2023.”
More than $120 million in tax revenue has been collected since has been generated since sales began in 2019. Revenue from medical marijuana sales reached $31 million in 2023, below the $32 million in 2022. Tax revenue doesn’t always mirror sales numbers, Hardin noted.
“The tax revenue doesn’t match well to sales. For example, there may have been large payments made by permit holders in 2022 due to audits from previous years. Those payments would then be included in the month in which it was paid in 2022. Additionally, there is a delay in which we receive the revenue. December was the largest month for sales in 2023. However, collection of that tax revenue will be listed in January 2024 figures,” Hardin told Talk Business & Politics.
Taxes collected are 6.5% of regular state sales tax with each purchase by a patient and a 4% privilege tax on sales from cultivators to dispensaries. Most of the tax revenue is placed in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences National Cancer Designation Trust Fund. The state also collects a cultivator privilege tax, which means tax revenue is not always tied to how much product is bought by consumers at dispensaries and the price for the product sold to dispensary customers.
The constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana for 17 qualifying conditions and creating a state medical marijuana commission was approved by Arkansas voters 53% (585,030) to 47% (516,525) in November 2016.
NATIONAL TRENDS
According to MJBiz, U.S. medical marijuana sales are projected to reach $11.1 billion in 2023, with all 2023 legal marijuana sales nationwide estimated to total $33.6 billion.
Washington, D.C.-based New Frontier Data, an analytics and data firm focused on the cannabis industry, reported in March 2023 a growing number of U.S. consumers of all forms of legalized marijuana. Following are a few key findings from that report.
• If the pace of state-level legalization continues in the absence of federal policy reform, legal cannabis sales are projected to reach $71 billion by 2030. If that pace stagnates, it would still reach $58 billion.
• An estimated 54 million U.S. adults will consume cannabis in 2023 across both legal and unregulated markets; that will grow to 69 million U.S. consumers by 2030.
• The total number of registered U.S. medical cannabis patients surpassed 4.5 million in 2022; there will be 5.2 million registered by 2030 – with no assumptions for new markets.
• The average U.S. consumer price per ounce of flower has declined 10% since 2010, dropping from $325.46 to $294.15.
Talk Business & Politics will update this story later today with a list of the top five dispensaries by pounds sold.
How Arkansas addressed receiver position in transfer portal
Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino lost plenty of production in the passing game to the transfer portal and NFL Draft following the 2024 season.
With starting quarterback Taylen Green set to return for a second season in Fayetteville, the Hogs had to find the 6-foot-6 passer some new weapons. Star receiver Andrew Armstrong is on his way to the NFL, veterans Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden are out of eligibility, and speedster Isaiah Sategna transferred to Oklahoma.
Along with those departures, younger prospects Dazmin James and Davion Dozier also elected to hit the portal, which left plenty of recruiting for Petrino, receivers coach Ronnie Fouch and head coach Sam Pittman.
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Armstrong led all Southeastern Conference players with 78 receptions for 1,140 receiving yards in the regular season, but it was really a one-man show with him all season.
TeSlaa added 545 receiving yards and Sategna was second on the team with 37 catches. At 6-foot-7, Broden could never break through as a true difference maker, as he caught just 15 passes for 197 yards and barely played late in the year.
Of the players the Hogs are set to return at wide receiver — Jordan Anthony, CJ Brown, Krosse Johnson, Bryce Stephens, Monte Harrison and Shamar Easter (moved from tight end to receiver for Liberty Bowl) — the production from 2024 only combined for a total 18 receptions, 243 yards and one touchdown.
Incoming freshmen such as Warren (Ark.) product Antonio Jordan and Missouri City (Tx.) four-star Ja’Kayden Ferguson are intriguing prospects, but it was clear the Hogs needed to add talent in the transfer portal.
So far, the Razorbacks have signed five transfer portal wide receivers. Three of them put together very solid seasons in 2024 for their respective programs, while one — former four-star and Pine Bluff native Courtney Crutchfield — redshirted and the fifth, Ismael Cisse, was a contributor at Stanford.
Arkansas Wide Receiver Production
Note: Courtney Crutchfield is not part of the table, as he did not record any statistics in 2024.
O’Mega Blake (6-foot-2, 180 lbs) began his career at South Carolina, where he spent three seasons and caught 20 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. At Charlotte in 2024, Blake caught five passes for 205 yards and three scores in the Nov. 23 win over Florida Atlantic.
Hailing from Fresno State, Raylen Sharpe (5-foot-9, 165 lbs) is very familiar with Petrino. Sharpe spent 2022-23 at Missouri State, where Petrino was head coach from 2020-22. Sharpe caught 73 passes for 991 yards and seven touchdowns at Missouri State in 2023.
Kam Shanks (5-foot-8, 180 lbs) will more-than-likely be the favorite to return punts after leading the nation with 329 punt return yards and two punt return touchdowns this season. Shanks caught five passes for 31 yards and one score in the Sept. 14 loss at Arkansas.
After being committed to Arkansas for nearly seven months out of high school, Courtney Crutchfield signed with Missouri and redshirted after appearing in just two games in 2024. He was rated by Rivals as the No. 2 overall recruit and No. 1 wide receiver in the state of Arkansas in the 2024 recruiting class.
The latest addition to the class, Cisse signed with the Razorbacks on Monday evening following a visit over the weekend. He logged 381 snaps as a freshman in 2024, per Pro Football Focus. Cisse is a former three-star recruit out of Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado.
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Overshadowed by Arkansas’ 52-point offensive performance was the difficulties the Razorbacks had stopping Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier, who scored 29 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including five threes in a 24-point loss against the No. 1 Volunteers.
Now, the Hogs must deal with a quartet of guards against No. 23 Ole Miss. All four can score in the “randomness” of coach Chris Beard’s system. The Rebels’ top four scorers, Sean Pedulla, Jaylen Murray, Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis are all listed as guards and average double figures.
“These guys run motion,” assistant coach Chin Coleman said. “It’s all random and it’s all different and so, while they’re moving and cutting and screening, you’re going to have to guard every kind of screen there is in the game of basketball. That motion is unpredictable. The freedom of movement, cutting, screening. It’s hard to scheme against. It’s hard to scout.”
Arkansas also must contend with an Ole Miss team that wins the turnover battle on both ends of the floor. The Rebels commit the ninth-fewest turnovers in the country (9.3) and are third-best in turnover margin (+7.0).
“We want to stay on the attack and make plays for one another and not have a lot of live-ball turnovers,” Coleman said. “Those are the ones that we can’t defend against. We want to make teams play against our set defense, which is one of the best in the country. If we can do that and not have live ball turnovers, we’ll be fine.”
Tennessee forced the Razorbacks to commit 15 turnovers, picked up 10 steals and turned it into 13 points. Ole Miss ranks fourth in the SEC at 10.2 steals a game.
Tipoff between Ole Miss and Arkansas is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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