JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The state agency charged with overseeing Missouri’s fledging medical marijuana program has finalized the number of licenses to be awarded in the first year.
On Friday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) determined the top-scoring 60 cultivation facilities, 192 dispensary facilities, and 86 medical marijuana-infused manufacturing facilities will be initially licensed for business in Missouri.
The numbers are the same as the amount set by the Missouri Constition. The limits exceed the number of pre-filed application fees and exceed the amount a recently-released study projects the industry will support.
“We appreciate and continue to seek the public’s input on how to best implement Article XIV of the Constitution,” said Dr. Randall Williams, DHSS Director, in a press release. “After careful due diligence based on broad input and other states’ experiences, we are establishing the number of licenses in this first year to be consistent with what is outlined in the Constitution. Moving forward, we will continually reassess to ensure access for patients is adequate.”
Facility license application forms and instructions will be available online June 4, and DHSS will accept completed applications from August 3-17. DHSS and contracted partners will then have until December 31 to review and score applications prior to licensing.
“The blind facility application scoring process will ensure that businesses selected for licenses will be those most capable of providing quality service to patients while adhering to the regulations we are implementing,” said Lyndall Fraker, Director of DHSS Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation.
Draft rules for Definitions and Seed-to-Sale Tracking are now posted on the DHSS website. Other drafts that have previously been posted in their initial form have been updated and include: Qualifying Patient/Primary Caregiver, Dispensary Facility, Infused Products Manufacturing Facility and Medical Marijuana Establishments Generally.
DHSS will continue accepting feedback on all drafts of rules via an online suggestion form until May 15. All rules must be finalized and available to the public by June 4. Until then, draft rules are subject to change.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
