FLORISSANT, Mo. — It's been a busy couple of days for dispensaries across Missouri.
Sunday wrapped up the first full weekend of recreational marijuana sales.
An amendment allowing for recreational sales in Missouri passed in November 2022, which paved a way for dispensaries to open across our area.
Several dispensary owners thought the license to sell would kick in on Monday, Feb. 6, but it came early on Friday, Feb. 3.
Despite the surprise of being able to sell a couple of days earlier, owners and general managers said, the weekend went great.
Many already seeing sales skyrocket, and they don't predict that slowing down anytime soon.
Nick Wegman, Feel State General Manager said, the past couple of days for the dispensary in Florissant can only be described in one way: "It's been pretty hectic."
Wegman said, it's been a good hectic though.
"We’ve quadrupled our normal flow," he said.
Wegman said, he believes that flow will only get higher and higher.
"It sells itself. We don’t really need to do much of anything else other than be on time and be very nice and provide education," he said.
Wegman tells 5 On Your Side, getting ready to sell earlier than anticipated meant quadrupling everything from staff to supplies.
"It’s been quite a weird, heavy transition scaling up five times," he said.
The look on customers' faces though, made the hustle and bustle all worth it for Wegman, he said.
"The smiles; there were a lot of smiles. I think and I feel people were more than excited to get in the doors," he said.
Over at Star Buds in University City, owner and operator Chris Chesley said, sales have more than doubled.
"On Friday and Saturday, we've seen more than 300 customers each day," he said.
It's something that's not only exciting for Chesley alone but the area too.
"I think it’s going to be great for both. I don't think any municipality wants to miss out on any tax dollars, and so far, it's looking good for the city, the state and the county," he said.
Chelsey said, getting ready early was a challenge, but doable for his staff.
"We were here all night, wrapping up things that we thought we would be doing over the weekend, but we got it done," Chelsey said. "When we got the approval from the state, we were ready to go."
While it's only the beginning, Chesley is ready for what's to come.
"People are excited; people have been super excited. People are coming in with smiles on their faces and leaving with smiles on their faces. People have waited their whole lives for this, so it's just exciting to be a part of all of it," he said.
Star Buds did invest in an ID scanner and Chesley said it's already paying off. He said they have already turned people away for trying to use fake ID's.