Oklahoma’s medical marijuana green rush is growing by the day, and that ganja-fueled prosperity isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
According to the Oklahoman, even suburban and rural outposts like the city of Edmond are cashing in. In fact, taking population into account, Edmond has more medical dispensaries per capita than the Colorado’s cannabis mecca, Denver.
With only 92,000 residents, Edmond boasts 84 active medical cannabis dispensaries, compared with Denver’s 364 medical pot shops for nearly 700,000 city dwellers. For local real estate developer David Chapman, those anomalous numbers are even more drastic when compared with local representation of nationwide businesses like fast food chains in the two cities. In Denver, there are 111 combined Starbucks and McDonald’s. In Edmond there are 15. At this point, its safe to say that Edmond’s medical marijuana industry is booming.
But if Edmond’s legal ganja expansion is surprising, the rest of the Sooner State is ready to shock. On a whole, Oklahoma is home to 6,500 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries and ranks number one in the US in medical marijuana patients per capita. Oklahoma may not have full-scale recreational legalization just yet, but when it comes to the medical side of things, it is an unlikely leader.
Gallery — Some Seriously Extra Cannabis Extracts:
Just last month, Oklahoma’s growing fleet of medical dispensaries brought in $3.6 million in cannabis sales tax to state coffers, building on a slew of consecutive successful months. In May, the state saw $25 million worth of weed sold and $3 million in excise taxes collected. In addition to booming business stats, Oklahoma has also pushed for high social standards in the cannabis industry, including an outright ban on employee discrimination over medical marijuana use.
So if you’re looking for a new place to settle down but you don’t want to sacrifice access to medical greenery, look no further than Edmond, Oklahoma — America’s greenest little city.
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