As predicted, Arkansas medical marijuana operators reported record-breaking sales in 2025.
Dispensaries rang up $291.1 million in sales in 2025, surpassing the previous record of $283 million set in 2023, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
That’s a $15 million increase over the prior record of $275.9 million set in 2024 and signals a rebound for the state’s medical cannabis industry, which launched in 2019,
Arkansas medical cannabis sales recover after 2024 stumble
“The industry certainly rebounded in 2025 with a new sales record, following a decrease in sales the previous year,” Scott Hardin, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, said in a statement.
Arkansas has recorded $1.6 billion in sales since the MMJ program launched in 2019, Hardin said.
Supply-wise, dispensaries across Arkansas sold 79,223 pounds of medical marijuana last year, up from 75,598 pounds in 2024.
Suite 443 in Hot Springs, the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary to open in May 2019, is the top-performing MMJ retail outlet in the state, according to DFA data.
The state’s MMJ program also generated significant tax revenue in 2025.
The two taxes applied to medical cannabis sales – the 6.5% state sales tax and the 4% privilege tax – brought in $32.3 million.
The privilege tax applies to both dispensary purchases and wholesale transactions between cultivators and dispensaries.
Arkansas officials are stymieing medical marijuana growth
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 115,113 active medical marijuana patient cards, an increase of 5.1% since February 2025.
But there appears to be untapped potential that state officials are holding back.
State law caps the number of MMJ dispensaries in the state at 40. Despite regulators issuing 38 licenses, only 36 dispensaries were active in the state as of September.
Secretary of Finance Jim Hudson has said he’s in no hurry to award the final two medical marijuana licenses.
And last April, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee vetoed a bill that would have legalized drive-thru windows, dispensary tours and loosened regulations around MMJ deliveries, claiming it “would expand access to usable marijuana.”
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