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Des Moines residents may have noticed a very distinctive billboard along I-235 East near downtown.
Driving the news: Good Day Farms, a marijuana dispensary in northern Missouri, purchased the advertisement, noting it takes 90 miles to drive to their shop from Des Moines.
- The dispensary's website also notes its proximity to the Iowa border, where recreational marijuana is still illegal.
What they're saying: Since the dispensary opened in November, Iowa customers have regularly driven down to purchase cannabis products, Abbey Morin, a floor sales lead, tells Axios.
- They wanted to reach more Iowa customers, especially since they're able to offer flower, which is still illegal in Iowa's medical marijuana program.
Zoom out: As cannabis sales become mainstream, neighboring states are reaping big tax revenues and allocating them towards administrative costs, as well as supporting drug treatment and veteran's funds.
- Colorado's state coffers gained $274.1 million in commercial marijuana taxes and licensing fees in 2023.
- Illinois received over $400 million in tax revenue for recreational marijuana.
- After legalizing recreational marijuana last August, Minnesota gained $600K in tax revenue in its first month.
What's next: The Iowa Senate is expected to debate a bill today that will give the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services the power to limit the THC potency in consumable hemp products like Climbing Kites.
Between the lines: The Missouri dispensary is next to a giant fireworks stand — a former favorite shopping destination for Iowans before they were legalized in the state in 2017.
- "Now it's marijuana and not fireworks," Morin says.