JOPLIN, Mo. — Buying legal marijuana is getting a little pricier, at least for sales happening in Joplin. Marijuana shoppers will be paying a little more at the cash register.

Sales of legal adult-use marijuana will have an extra 3% city tax in Joplin.

“It became effective on October 1. So any purchase of marijuana inside the city limits there will be an additional 3% collected,” said Leslie Haase, Joplin City Finance Director.

Voters approved the measure last spring – but it didn’t kick in until this week.

Joplin city workers expect to see significant tax revenue from the tax.

“For us, we’re projecting somewhere between $300,000 – 500,000 a year,” said Haase.

That’s money City Hall will use to offset the loss of other taxes reduced by the state, including those on manufacturing equipment and franchise taxes.

“Telephone, cable — which also cable was also a legislative act, it was decreased by Missouri and so really we see this it’s gonna go into the general fund and really just offset those reductions in revenue,” said Haase.

Joplin isn’t alone.

Voters in several southwest Missouri cities and counties approved the tax last spring – leading to an extra three percent charge at the register this week.

That includes both Jasper and Newton Counties as well as cities like Carthage, Carl Junction, and Neosho. The local taxes are on top of the %6 tax already charged by the state.

Medical marijuana was first available for sale nearly three years ago – but sales totals shot up earlier this year when recreational marijuana took effect. The state of Missouri says marijuana sales now total nearly one and a half billion dollars overall.