Oklahoma’s medical marijuana sales were a lot better than “OK” for January. Clearing $4 million in sales for the month, MJ Biz Daily reports that medical marijuana sales in Oklahoma increased fourfold in January versus December of 2018. The news comes hot on the heels of Missouri announcing that it had cleared 400 pre-licensing applications since the window opened last month. With that news coming hot on the heels of Ohio seeing remarkable initial MMJ sales to boot.

The Midwest Is A Huge Opportunity for Medical and (eventually) Adult-use Cannabis

So what do these big numbers and aggressive moves for legalization and markets opening up? Well, the Midwest for starters is going to be a big market. Oklahoma and Ohio have seen big sales in a short amount of time, and Arkansas, which is getting very close to opening med. sales, stands to be the same. Similarly, Mizzou will be another major market when once its medical marijuana sales get rolling.

We’ve been bullish on the Midwest as a market for some time now, and our confidence in the region only grows stronger as states such as Minnesota and Tennessee contemplate legalization efforts. But why such medical marijuana success in the region? So many states throughout the heartland of the country have seen communities devastated by the opioid crisis. And many states that have seen the devastating effects of opioids are turning to medical marijuana as a far more effective and non-addictive treatment option. Illinois is joining this chorus with its opioid-alternative program.

Additionally the region has some of the best offerings for cultivation, with ample arable lands, water and farmers with the agricultural chops to grow anything. For states such as Tennessee and Kentucky, where tobacco has been a king of crops for decades, dwindling tobacco use has provided the impetus for some farmers in those states to take up marijuana as a crop in lieu of tobacco.

While America’s Heartland can too readily be dismissed as “fly-over territory” or the boonies, for savvy investors the Midwest represents a true opportunity. Sure, the states don’t have the sexy cachet of an L.A. or Big Apple, but reasonable prices on real estate and smart investments may be even sexier than anything on Rodeo Drive or cooked up in an office on Madison Avenue.