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The state will issue 48 microbusiness licenses by October.
The cannabis industry has grown like a weed in Missouri since voters legalized medical marijuana in 2018. More Missourians will soon have a shot at the pot.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services will begin accepting applications for new small cannabis businesses on Thursday. The “microbusinesses” were created to broaden participation in Missouri’s legal cannabis industry by allowing small business owners from disadvantaged populations into the field.
Stakeholders of Missouri’s cannabis industry have been divided on whether microbusinesses will equitably solve the lack of diversity in the industry. Critics say the licenses would constrict marginalized entrepreneurs in what they could do with their business. But minority entrepreneurs say they still plan to apply for the licenses, seeing them as one of few options for them to enter the industry.
An applicant can receive one of two different licenses types: for a dispensary to sell marijuana; or a wholesale facility to manufacture marijuana products or cultivate up to 250 flowering plants. Micro-dispensaries and wholesale facilities can only do business with other microbusinesses.
The businesses would have to be majority-owned by a person who meets at least one eligibility requirement, such as showing they’ve been affected by poverty or incarceration for non-violent marijuana offenses, among other criteria.
Applications will be accepted until August 10 through an online portal. Licensees will be selected through a random lottery drawing. By October, a total of 48 microbusiness licenses (six per Missouri’s eight congressional districts) will be issued. Another 48 will be issued in 2024, and then another in 2025.
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