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Nearly half of Missouri social-equity marijuana license applicants were from out of state
More than 40% of the owners listed on applications for state’s social-equity marijuana licenses issued in October were from outside Missouri, according to an annual report released by the Division of Cannabis Regulation Wednesday. About half of those owners came from California, Michigan, Louisiana and Arizona collectively. The microbusiness license program is meant to boost […]
Missouri lawmakers renew push to regulate ‘delta-8 THC’ hemp products
A Republican state senator has filed legislation to renew last spring’s failed effort to regulate intoxicating hemp products in Missouri, such as Delta-8 drinks and edibles. Delta-8 THC products can be sold in stores in Missouri because the intoxicating ingredient, THC, is derived from hemp, not marijuana which is a controlled substance. And hemp is […]
Company behind Missouri marijuana recall poses legal challenge to state’s regulations
Missouri’s crackdown on a cannabis company accused of illegally importing THC concentrate could lead to a showdown over the state’s authority to regulate the industry. Delta Extraction had its license to manufacture cannabis products revoked in November, months after a massive recall pulled more than 60,000 products off the shelves — which the state says […]
A quarter of Missouri cannabis microbusiness license winners deemed ineligible
Missouri cannabis regulators may revoke 11 of the 48 social-equity cannabis licenses issued in October after finding they didn’t meet eligibility requirements. Nine were dispensaries and two were wholesale facilities. Among those who could face license revocation is Canna Zoned, a Michigan company that secured two of the 16 dispensary cannabis licenses — in Columbia […]
Cannabis workers across Missouri begin push to unionize dispensaries
The first day was a breeze. Sean Shannon and Danny Foster walked into several marijuana dispensaries around Missouri with their matching “Union For Cannabis Workers” shirts and talked to employees about the possibility of unionizing. “The first day, there were 57 stops amongst the teams,” said Shannon, lead organizer with UFCW Local 655, which actually […]
Donald Suggs’ legacy with St. Louis American: ‘Local history would look entirely different’
The St. Louis American first hit newsstands on March 17, 1928. At that time, the Black weekly newspaper was an eight-page tabloid with a circulation of about 2,000. More than 95 years later, The American reaches about 300,000 people each month through the print newspaper and website. It’s the largest weekly newspaper in Missouri and […]
Cannabis regulators to revoke license of Missouri company at center of recall
The state’s Division of Cannabis Regulation is revoking the marijuana manufacturing license of Delta Extraction after accusing the company of illegally importing “marijuana product” from out-of-state and adding it to Missouri-grown marijuana products. The revocation will take effect on Dec. 2. The Robertsville-based company is at the center of Missouri’s massive marijuana recall that was […]
Missouri legislators criticize regulations targeting cannabis packaging aimed at kids
A panel of Missouri lawmakers have spent several hours in recent weeks debating whether or not aliens and robots should be banned on marijuana product labels. Humans, animals and fruits are already not allowed — an effort by the state to keep products out of the hands of children. But would robots fall under that […]
Federal lawsuit reveals behind-the-scenes saga of failed Missouri marijuana testing lab
(Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent)
Missouri rolls back part of its cannabis product recall
The state rolled back its recall of nearly 15,000 cannabis products last week and allowed them to return to the dispensary shelves, after requiring Missouri companies to keep them in storage since early August. The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation said in an Oct. 20 notice that after a review of product-tracking records, regulators can […]
Missouri lawmaker calls for investigation into ‘fraudulent activities’ in cannabis program
A St. Louis lawmaker is demanding that Missouri regulators investigate what she called an “egregious exploitation” of social cannabis equity licenses, following a report by The Independent last week about a company that recruited out-of-state license applicants on Craigslist. State Sen. Karla May, a St. Louis Democrat, sent a letter on Thursday to the state’s […]
Applicants recruited on Craigslist competed for Missouri social equity cannabis licenses
James Harnden has been a longtime activist for cannabis legalization, ever since he got slapped with a low-level felony possession charge for having an ounce of weed. The 56-year old Rockford, Ill., resident says that charge has cost him job opportunities for 30 years. Earlier this year, he saw an advertisement in the Craigslist “gigs” […]