The Smoke is Still Rising: Arizona Cannabis

It has been about a month since the report “Arizona Recreational Cannabis Hits its 2-Year Cannaversary” was released and in that short amount of time, the Arizona Cannabis industry has seen even more growth! At the time of the previously mentioned report, there were 127 active dispensaries in the state of Arizona. Fast forward to the time of this writing (Wednesday, the 15th of February 2023) and there are now 143 active dispensaries in the state of Arizona. Why the continuous boom?

Photo by Ashton Hackney: Fig Farms, a new Arizona Cannabis Company, branching out from California

The biggest reason for the growth is Arizona’s “Social Equity Program”. This program is used to help people break into dispensary ownership that has been negatively affected by the war on drugs. This program was announced on June 1, 2021, and as a result, 26 more dispensary licenses were issued in the state.

Photo by Ashton Hackney: Aunt Ellie’s medicated cannabis brownies

One thing is certain for Arizona’s cannabis industry, growth will continue as more progressive measures are put in place. These measures seem to make the industry more appealing to people and take away from the criminality and stigma traditionally surrounding cannabis.