MJBiz - May/June 2024 - 20

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS State by State
Arizona
Regulated cannabis retailers in Arizona sold nearly $1.5 billion worth of recreational and
medical marijuana in 2023, a record since the state launched adult-use sales in January 2021.
State operators transacted $1,490,948,873 in marijuana sales last year, an increase of 4.9%
from 2022, according to data released by the Arizona Department of Revenue.
It's the second consecutive year of sales growth in Arizona since the launch of recreational
marijuana sales, as the state has proved to be more immune to sales slumps that have
hampered newer adult-use markets the past few years.
The adult-use cannabis market drove the strong performance in 2023, accounting for more
than 76% of total sales, according to the Arizona Daily Sun. Recreational marijuana shoppers
accounted for only 45% of sales in 2021, the newspaper reported.
Arizona retailers have benefited from a key regulatory allowance prohibited in most other
markets: cannabis sales after midnight. The market, however, has faced challenges such as the
slow rollout of social equity retailers.
Arkansas
State Attorney General Tim Griffin greenlighted language for a November ballot initiative
that aims to vastly expand the state's medical marijuana program and opens the door for full
legalization.
The approval clears the way for advocates of The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment
of 2024 to collect 90,704 signatures from registered voters by July 5 to qualify for the ballot,
according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The proposal would:
* Allow more health care professionals to prescribe MMJ.
* Expand qualifying conditions for use.
* Accept medical patients from other states.
* Extend the expiration date of medical cards from one year to three years.
The initiative also would legalize marijuana for adult use if the federal government removes it
from the controlled substance list or eliminates possession as a crime, the newspaper reported.
The Arkansas health department reported 97,253 active MMJ patient cards through January,
up 8% from 89,855 a year earlier. In 2023, the state's 38 licensed dispensaries registered record
sales of $283 million from 62,227 pounds of marijuana sold.
Arkansas, which launched medical marijuana sales in May 2019, has eight cultivators and
nine licensed processors.
California
The state led the nation in hemp flower acreage and production in 2022, according to an
MJBizDaily analysis of the recent Census of Agriculture report released by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
Alameda County, California, harvested 5.5 million pounds of hemp flower that year, more
than any other U.S. county.
Hemp farms in California's Central Valley-including Fresno and Tulare counties-produced
nearly 20% of domestically grown floral hemp, or hemp cultivated for its cannabinoid-rich
flower, in 2022.
California produced 56% of all U.S. hemp flower, which is used to extract CBD and other
cannabinoids, including intoxicating hemp-derived THC.
While most of California's 6.3 million pounds of hemp flower was produced in three
counties, hemp farms can be found across the state.
Farmers in Imperial County, on California's southern border, harvested 12,000 pounds of hemp
flower, and roughly 9,000 pounds were harvested in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles.
20 May-June 2024 | MJBizMagazine

MJBiz - May/June 2024

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