Cannabis
Missouri regulators deny certification for majority of social-equity cannabis license winners
David Huckins, a disabled veteran from Leavenworth, Kan., threw his name into the lottery this spring for a chance to win a social-equity marijuana dispensary license in Missouri. In June, he learned he landed one of 57 microbusiness licenses meant to benefit disadvantaged business owners – including disabled veterans, those with lower incomes and people […]
Missouri appeals court hears case over local governments stacking sales tax on marijuana
The court debate Tuesday over how Missouri marijuana products get taxed statewide sounded similar to a grammar class on conjunctions and comma placement. The constitutional amendment voters approved in 2022 legalizing recreational marijuana allowed local governments to impose additional sales tax on the products. The big question before the three-judge panel of the Missouri Court […]
Cost to enforce ban on intoxicating hemp products in Missouri estimated at nearly $900K
While a large part of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on intoxicating hemp products may be on pause, plans are underway to kick it back up next summer, according to a preliminary budget request by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The department has asked for $877,000 to fund “food inspection and litigation […]
Cannabis union drive stalls as company attempts to set national legal precedent
It’s been more than seven months since employees of St. Louis-based Beleaf Medical cannabis company held an election to unionize. The majority of the ballots — 11 of the 16 — have remained closed. “It’s been quite a while,” said Will Braddum, a post-harvest technician at the company’s Sinse facility in St. Louis. “We’re just […]
Alleged ‘predatory’ contracts continue to surface in Missouri social-equity marijuana program
Destiny Brown thought she had been recruited last year to own and operate a small-scale Missouri cannabis dispensary — and get paid $200,000 to do it. Cannabis investor Michael Halow told Brown, who is Black, that her disabled veteran status and the marijuana offense on her father’s record qualified her for a Missouri microbusiness license. The […]
‘Hemp sales are back on’: Missouri regulators pare down ban on intoxicating hemp products
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on intoxicating hemp products hit another hurdle on Tuesday, resulting in an indefinite pause on a huge part of the effort. Richard Moore, general counsel for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said in a letter Tuesday that the state’s health regulators will stop embargoing — or tagging […]
Missouri VFW inspected by state regulators as part of ban on intoxicating hemp products
Not long after Commander Jason Stanfield had lowered the flag Wednesday to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11 at his Franklin County VFW Post, he learned state food inspectors had arrived. “It’s not an easy day,” Stanfield said. “9/11 is a tough day for all of us, particularly for veterans. I was not in […]
Missouri Attorney General to help crack down on intoxicating hemp products
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is creating a new specialized unit to assist the state’s alcohol and tobacco regulators in cracking down on intoxicating hemp products, Bailey announced at a Capitol press conference Tuesday afternoon. The announcement comes after Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on these products hit a delay of up to six months. The […]
With Missouri regulations in flux, what’s the difference between hemp and marijuana?
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has vowed to run intoxicating hemp products out of Missouri, banning their sale and threatening penalties to any business that makes or sells them. In many ways, it’s the latest showdown between the marijuana industry — which has operated legally in Missouri since 2018 but is outlawed federally — and the […]
Trump’s support of Florida marijuana legalization may show growing bipartisan consensus
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s early Monday statement that he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida sent a strong signal that both major parties are moving to adopt popular marijuana reform efforts, unexpectedly elevating the issue in the presidential battle. But the campaign for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, expressed […]
Missouri regulators visit nearly 50 stores to inspect for intoxicating hemp edibles
State health regulators walked into the busy Prime Fuel gas station in Sedalia on Tuesday morning and asked the clerk if there were any intoxicating hemp-derived THC edibles in the store — products the governor banned as of Sept. 1. The two employees of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services learned the store […]
Missouri marijuana regulators issue third product recall in August
Missouri regulators issued another cannabis recall on Friday, the third this month, this time for about 37,000 marijuana products. That brings the total number of marijuana products recalled in August to up nearly 175,000 — almost triple Missouri’s first massive cannabis product recall a year ago. The focus of the recall is products made by […]