Three days earlier than scheduled, Missouri state officials have given the green light to the first marijuana dispensaries to begin selling to adult customers and have begun accepting applications for people to grow cannabis at home according to a report by Marijuana Moment.
There were 335 businesses given the green light by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to begin serving adults with marijuana. This number includes 207 dispensaries, 72 manufacturers, and 56 cultivation facilities.
The approval of dual licenses for existing medical cannabis businesses means they can now legally sell to the recreational market.
After it was confirmed in August that legalizing cannabis would be on the ballot, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), which has regulatory power over the program and is in charge of giving out all cannabis licenses, started doing some preliminary work to make the rules.
Early in December, the Division of Cannabis Regulation, which is part of DHSS, started taking applications from medical cannabis dispensaries that want to serve adults.
Adults who want to grow their own marijuana could start sending applications to the government. The department put out sample applications so that people could get ready to send in their documents.
Missouri’s marijuana law, which was approved by voters and went into effect in December, says that adults over the age of 21 must apply for permission to grow their own plants legally.
Since it was introduced and moved through committee during the regular session last year, Hicks’s bill had been slightly changed. One of the most important changes is the addition of an emergency clause that refers to the ballot initiative and makes the law go into effect as soon as it passes.
Gov. Mike Parson (R), on the other hand, said that he would not add legalizing marijuana to the agenda for the special session, that would focus on tax relief and farming issues.
A Republican from Missouri filed a bill last month that would give people with serious mental health problems access to psilocybin for treatment.
