SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — It has been one year since recreational marijuana was made legal in Missouri. Since then, business has been booming here in Springfield and across the state.
On Feb. 3rd, 2023, recreational marijuana became legal in Missouri. Derrick Duncan, a store manager at Old Route 66 Wellness, said business has drastically changed over the past year.
“From medical days to now, it’s just insane,” Duncan said. “The numbers that we see now are just way higher than what we expected.”
Duncan said he is happy to see more and more people coming in the door.
“I think it’s everything we could dream of, the more people, the merrier,” Duncan said. “And the more that we kind of paint that picture of this isn’t so scary and not such a bad thing to have around, the better, in our opinion.”
Across Missouri, marijuana sales have been climbing.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, marijuana sales over the last year reached over 1.9 billion dollars, with about 1.3 billion of those sales being recreational.
Duncan said they are keeping more stock and seeing a wide range of customers daily.
“Whether they be old or young, as long as they’re 21, they can come in and buy,” said Duncan. “And so long as they have a valid ID.”
The number of customers coming in creates the challenge of keeping products stocked and keeping people from waiting to make purchases.
