Arkansas Cannabis Economic Impact — $1.6B Cumulative Sales

Last verified: May 2026

Program Scale Snapshot (May 2026)

The 2025 Record Year

The 2025 calendar year set the program’s all-time annual sales record at $291.1 million — up 5.5% over 2024 and breaking the previous high of $283 million set in 2023, according to DFA spokesman Scott Hardin. Year-over-year growth had decelerated from the explosive 2019–2022 ramp but resumed in 2025 driven by patient-base expansion and price stability.

Tax Revenue Growth

• Cumulative state cannabis tax revenue (May 2019 – Dec 2025): $218.32 million.
• 2025 cannabis tax revenue: $32.3 million.
• 2024 cannabis tax revenue: approximately $30.5 million.
• 2023 cannabis tax revenue: approximately $31.3 million.
• 2022 cannabis tax revenue: approximately $26 million.

Where the Tax Revenue Goes

From 2017 through 2024, most medical-marijuana tax revenue (~$90M cumulative) flowed to the UAMS NCI Designation Trust Fund. Beginning February 20, 2025, SB 59 / Act 122 routes the revenue to a new Food Insecurity Fund — primarily funding universal free school breakfast for the 2025–26 school year. Full coverage on the SB 59 page.

Direct Cannabis-Industry Employment

Estimating Arkansas cannabis-industry employment is challenging because there is no single state agency producing aggregate counts. Industry estimates as of late 2025:

• Cultivation employment: ~700–1,200 direct positions across the eight licensed cultivators (master growers, trimmers, processing technicians, security, compliance officers, sales, etc.). Each cultivator employs roughly 80–200 people depending on tier and operational scale.
• Processor employment: ~150–300 positions at concentrate, edible, and tincture processors.
• Dispensary employment: ~600–900 positions across the ~36 active dispensaries (managers, budtenders, security, compliance, marketing). Each dispensary typically employs 15–25 people.
• Testing and ancillary services: ~50–100 positions at Steep Hill Arkansas (testing), security service providers, transportation companies, software vendors.
• Total direct employment estimate: approximately 1,500–2,500 direct positions.

Indirect Economic Impact

The medical-cannabis program’s indirect impact extends beyond direct employment:

• Construction and facility build-out: Each cultivation facility represents ~$5–15M in capital investment; dispensary build-outs ~$0.5–2M each.
• Specialized agricultural services: nutrient suppliers, lighting and HVAC vendors, IT/seed-to-sale software providers.
• Legal services: Cannabis-business attorneys, ballot-measure-petition law firms, employment-law specialists.
• Banking workarounds: Cashless ATM providers, cannabis-friendly banking services (limited; mostly out-of-state).
• Marketing and design services: Cannabis-licensed media, packaging design, dispensary branding.
• Tourism: Visiting-patient program revenue and ancillary tourism spending in Hot Springs, Eureka Springs, Helena.

Patient-Demographic Snapshot

From the ACHI/UAMS Health Affairs March 2025 study and ADH program data:

• Active cards (Mar 14, 2026): 115,275; (Apr 25, 2026): ~115,105.
• Most-cited qualifying conditions: PTSD (41.9%), intractable pain (39.8%), severe arthritis (14.7%).
• Demographic concentration: Higher card-density in Northwest Arkansas (Benton, Washington counties) and Pulaski County than in the Delta and rural southern counties.
• Patient cost burden: Average patient spends $30–60/month on dispensary purchases (mid-tier flower); chronic-pain patients with regular dosing average $80–200/month.

Pricing and Patient-Affordability

Arkansas dispensary prices remain roughly 2× Oklahoma prices across most strain tiers, reflecting:

• The 8-cultivator supply cap.
• The 4% privilege tax stacked at both wholesale and retail.
• Limited supply-chain redundancy compared to Oklahoma’s 2,815-grower market.

The persistent price gap is the structural reason Sebastian-County and Northwest-Arkansas patients consider Oklahoma’s 30-day temporary out-of-state license at $100. The medical-card-holder price-sensitivity question is a recurring policy debate.

The Suite 443 Volume Lead

Suite 443 in Hot Springs (the original Doctor’s Orders RX) sold 5,515 pounds in just the first eight months of 2025 alone, making it the state’s top-grossing dispensary by a significant margin. The volume lead reflects:

• The cultural cachet of being the state’s "first" dispensary.
• The Hot Springs tourism economy and high visiting-patient traffic.
• The substantial driving catchment from Pulaski County, Saline County, and surrounding cental Arkansas.

The Two Tax-Revenue Recipients

The pre-SB 59 funding flow (2017–2024) directed cannabis tax revenue to the UAMS NCI Designation Trust Fund — cumulative ~$90M to support UAMS’s pursuit of National Cancer Institute Designation. The post-SB 59 funding flow (Feb 2025 onward) directs cannabis tax revenue to the Food Insecurity Fund — with universal free school breakfast as the primary first-claim use. Both destinations are politically defensible; both create stakeholder constituencies invested in the program continuing to generate tax revenue.

The 2026–27 Outlook

Looking forward:

• The patient-base growth rate is decelerating but still positive (~110K to ~115K from year-end 2024 to mid-2026).
• The 2025 sales record ($291M) is likely to be broken in 2026 if growth continues at current pace.
• The post-Edgmon legislative climate creates a meaningful uncertainty: a tax-rate increase in the 2027 session could push some patients toward cross-border purchase, eroding tax base.
• Federal Schedule III rescheduling (if finalized) could substantially shift the demand and the federal-employer drug-testing landscape.

Related on this site: Arkansas Cannabis Advocacy, Arkansas Cannabis Official Sources, Send a Message.