Cannabis
Missouri hemp leaders file suit to halt governor’s ban on hemp THC products
The Missouri Hemp Trade Association filed a lawsuit Friday in Cole County Circuit Court to stop the governor’s ban on all intoxicating hemp food and drinks from taking effect Sunday. The action comes in response to a memo the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services sent to food retailers on Thursday detailing how the […]
Deadline for Missouri’s new marijuana plain packaging is Sept. 1
Marijuana companies face a hard deadline to meet Missouri’s new plain packaging requirements on Sept. 1 — more than a year after the rule was initially put in place. For decades, there’s been a global movement urging “plain packaging” on tobacco products — or packaging with limited colors and frills — after numerous studies found […]
Ban on Missouri hemp-THC products delayed in dust up between governor, secretary of state
The governor’s ban on intoxicating hemp products hit a delay Wednesday after Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft rejected the emergency rules detailing how it would have been enforced. Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order earlier this month to remove all hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages from store shelves and threatening penalties to any […]
‘Unprecedented’: Second massive Missouri cannabis recall leaves some companies scrambling
State regulators issued two cannabis recall notices last week involving 135,000 marijuana products — more than double Missouri’s first massive cannabis product recall exactly one year ago. “I’ve never seen recalls of this magnitude in any other state,” said Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis. “This is kind of unprecedented.” Since the announcement, Rinella and […]
Hemp industry leaders call Missouri governor’s order banning THC products an ‘overreach’
Walking into Total Wine stores in Missouri this summer, it was impossible not to see the display for hemp-derived THC infused beverages. Total Wine, the country’s largest liquor retailer, set the tone for the alcohol industry in June when it began carrying the products at its seven Missouri stores. “It has been amazing for us,” […]
Missouri cannabis leader accused of using ‘predatory’ contracts to win social-equity licenses
When John Payne was leading the campaign to legalize recreational cannabis in 2022, he faced a major hurdle. Black business owners were largely excluded from the medical marijuana program when licenses to grow and sell cannabis were doled out by the state in 2019, and many feared history was about to repeat itself. So to […]
Company at center of Missouri marijuana recall faces $20 million lawsuit
Delta Extraction, the Robertsville-based marijuana manufacturer at the center of Missouri’s massive product recall last year, is being sued for nearly $20 million in unpaid invoices and loss of revenue by a former contractor. SND Equipment Leasing is a Missouri company that created the THC concentrate oil that led to regulators’ decision to pull more […]
Slow process of Missouri marijuana expungement drags on months after constitutional deadlines
IRONTON — Sammye White balanced carefully on a stepladder as she pulled a hefty box marked “1993” off the top shelf. White, the elected circuit clerk for Iron County in southeast Missouri, was searching for an old marijuana case. The small storage room near her office is packed with faded ledgers indexing criminal cases by […]
Money isn’t enough to speed up Missouri’s marijuana expungements
Out of the $7 million Missouri lawmakers approved last year to help courts expunge decades of marijuana cases, state records show less than 10% of it was spent as of mid-May. Across the state, nearly 123,000 marijuana cases have been expunged, according to numbers compiled by the Missouri Supreme Court. But court officials have said […]
Kratom workers across eastern Missouri vote to unionize
CBD Kratom employees have become the first Missouri workers in the industry to unionize, following a Friday election. The election spanned across 17 stores in eastern Missouri and Illinois operated by the St. Louis-based CBD Kratom, which sells largely kratom and hemp-derived THC products. Employees voted 23 to 6 to unionize, with 75% of the […]
2nd Missouri judge rules counties can stack taxes at marijuana dispensaries
Buchanan County can collect a special marijuana sales tax on dispensaries within St. Joseph city limits, a judge ruled Wednesday in the second decision granting counties the right to stack taxes on top of city levies. Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg wrote in his two-page ruling that provisions in the recreational marijuana constitutional amendment passed in […]
Legal cannabis in Missouri has generated $19 million for veterans, treatment, public defenders
Since recreational weed was legalized in 2022, it has led to more than $19 million going towards three causes — supporting veterans, expanding substance use treatment programs and adding to the Missouri Public Defenders System’s budget. “It is so rewarding to see the impact of this voter-approved program on organizations that provide vital services to […]