Stoners Rejoice: Legal Weed Sales Begin Early in St. Louis

Lines at area dispensaries have so far been short or nonexistent

Feb 3, 2023 at 3:44 pm

This can now be yours, even without a med card

Customers eager to get their hands on their first legal blunts trickled into St. Louis-area dispensaries Friday afternoon as the state began granting licenses to sell recreational cannabis.

LIST: These St. Louis Weed Dispensaries Are Open for Recreational Sales Now: If you're 21 or over, you can now buy marijuana at these shops

The start of adult-use recreational marijuana sales on Friday came as a bit of a surprise. The Missouri Department of Health and Seniors Services, or DHSS, was obligated by Missouri’s newly passed legal weed amendment to start issuing licenses on Monday.

But then DHSS officials tweeted yesterday that they’d start approving comprehensive (medical and adult use) license requests today, three days early.

So “legal weed day” came a little earlier than expected. And those who could take time in the middle of the day to shop pot were, at first, a rare few.

Lines at city dispensaries weren’t long early Friday afternoon. Most dispensaries had no lines at all.

But budtenders don’t expect it to stay that way. Several area dispensaries have events and specials planned for the weekend or early Monday to celebrate the roll out of recreational cannabis.

So far, DHSS officials have approved 335 facilities to sell recreational marijuana, including 207 dispensaries, 72 manufacturers and 56 cultivation facilities.

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For most, today was a long time coming.

“This is a huge day for us,” says Anna Brush, assistant store manager of 3Fifteen Primo Cannabis in south St. Louis.

“It feels amazing,” says Phil Williams, assistant manager of Luxury Leaf. “It’s honestly a dream come true, especially if you know someone who’s gotten in trouble for the plant.”

Swade Cannabis in the Loop completed its first sale of recreational marijuana around noon today. The customer, Caleb Sherley, says he’s traveled to other states such as Washington, Illinois and Colorado, to purchase weed, but today marked his first licensed purchase in Missouri.

“It’s very nice you can just go inside of a store now and take a 10 or 15 minute sale in order to get whatever I want,” Sherley says. “It’s a world apart from what it used to be like.”

Plan to visit a dispensary some time soon? Find answers to your burning questions below.

But here’s the skinny: Bring a Missouri ID (you have to be 21 or older to purchase cannabis or cannabis products) and bring plenty of cash — though some dispensaries are accepting cards and/or have ATM machines.

Happy blazing!