O Christmas weed: Missouri dispensaries ring in first holiday season with legal marijuana

To attract customers this month, Hippos has launched a 12-day promotion that includes special deals on certain products leading up to Dec. 25.

Since Missouri began recreational-use cannabis sales in February, the industry has averaged $117.8 million overall sales per month. Experts expect cannabis sales to increase at the end of the year — and even into Dry January.
Missouri dispensaries are navigating the first holiday season with legal recreational sales, and business owners expect there to be an uptick in sales despite a state-wide decline in monthly revenue.

Since the initiation of recreational-use cannabis sales in February, the industry has averaged $117.8 million overall sales per month. In November, combined medical and recreational-use cannabis sales amounted to $112.7 million, reflecting an ongoing decrease in sales since the summer.

As temperatures drop and people are staying home, many aren’t purchasing as many cannabis products, said Nicholas Rinella, CEO of Hippos Marijuana Dispensaries.

But as the holidays roll around, cannabis sales should increase, said Robin Goldstein, the director of the Cannabis Economics Group at the University of California.

As employees take time off for the holidays, Goldstein said people will have more time to relax at home and in turn, drive cannabis sales up.