Missouri: the Midwest's newest haven for marijuana smokers

In a hip Missouri dispensary, sisters Juree Burgett and Tanya Knight, both in their 60s, smell various marijuana buds while weighing their options. To make their purchase, they traveled three hours from Kansas, where it is still unlawful to use cannabis for recreational purposes.

“They will not legalize it in Kansas. They won’t give us medical (usage),” says 64-year-old Burgett, clad in a denim jacket.

The shop with a drive-through window is in a rundown part of Kansas City, just off the highway and over the border into Missouri, the latest to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.

The new regulation, approved by voters in a referendum in November, has sparked an economic boom for the "Show Me" state, fueled by thousands of pot smokers from the eight states along its borders, most of which have not legalized the drug.

Of the states on Missouri's border, only Illinois has moved to decriminalize recreational cannabis use, meaning that dispensaries like the one in Kansas City are sitting on a potential gold mine.

Sales in February totaled $103 million, as compared with $37.2 million the month before, according to the state's health department. The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade) projects the local market will soar to more than $1.2 billion in a year's time.

Louie Sebald is the director of cultivation for Illicit Gardens, a production facility with 30,000 square feet (2,800 square meters) of cannabis plants. In three weeks, it will be operating at full capacity, with 1,500 pounds (680 kilos) of buds a month.

Sebald is hiring to move from 130 to 170 employees, and the industry employs 13,000 people, mainly in rural areas. He explains the math: "If you're producing for $400 (a pound), and selling for $2,300," the profits are clear.