Missouri Independent Skyler Berry makes pre-rolled joints at the Robust Cannabis production facility in Cuba, Mo. “Nobody can keep it on the shelves.”Īnd even if every Missouri company was producing at its max, Braun said, “I don’t even know if it’s enough.

“I don’t even think anybody could anticipate that Missouri would be such flower fiends,” said Braun, meaning cannabis flower buds and pre-rolled joints. The company began tripling its production in January, and they’ve hired about 40 people in the last three months alone.īut they’re still not meeting the state’s incredible demand, said Emily Braun, director of operations and human resources of Robust Cannabis. Now they have 70 workers, who live and often grew up nearby. While Missouri is not matching Illinois’ April numbers of $132 million, it is still poised to hit over a billion in its first year.Ī year ago, Robust Cannabis had six employees when they opened their 75,000-square-foot greenhouse and manufacturing site in Cuba, Mo., which is an hour south of St. Two years later, Illinois ended 2022 at $1.6 billion. Still, Missouri’s market has been among the quickest to rise nationwide.įor Illinois, it took seven months to hit $300 million after beginning adult-use sales in January 2020, with its first year ending at $670 million. They’ve just expanded, but they haven’t even been approved.”

“I don’t think we’ve seen peak numbers yet at all,” Hannegan said of Missouri sales, “just because there’s still cultivation groups that haven’t come online. Since February, DHSS has received more than 80 requests for facility changes, adding to the 40 they already had pending, said DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox. That’s partially because anytime a cannabis business makes changes to their facility, it must get approval from the state regulating agency, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). It could take up to a year to see what Missouri sales are capable of, said Tyler Hannegan, co-owner and chief of operations and sales at Robust Cannabis. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services On May 5, 2023, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released its monthly and cumulative cannabis sales numbers.

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