Tag: Missouri

12/28/20--The number of fatal crashes in Kansas City involving marijuana has doubled in the last two years. Kansas City police are worried that a de-emphasis on marijuana possession enforcement could keep the number high. Read

12/29/20--Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri. Dogan pre-filed a bill that would change the state constitution and would require voter approval to legalize the sale of the drug and wants the measure to go before voters in 2022. Read

12/30/20--In Missouri, marijuana edibles for patients became available at 3rd Street Dispensary in Lee's Summit. According to the state, there are over 87,000 patient applications with 40 facilities such as cultivation, manufacturing, dispensary and testing sites. Since dispensaries opened in October, there has been more than $4 million in sales of medical marijuana. Read

10/27/20--After not receiving a medical marijuana growing license from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Sarcoxie Nursery owned by the Callicoat family filed a lawsuit. They argued that Missouri’s selective medical marijuana licensing process violated Missourians’ right to farm. They also objected to “blind scoring” protocols that included bonuses awarded to applicants located in economically distressed ZIP codes. Missouri’s program has already prompted widely reported scrutiny from Missouri lawmakers and even the FBI. If the Callicoats win their suit, said two prominent Missouri attorneys with ties to the cannabis industry, it would change the playing field. Read

10/22/20--The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has concluded its investigation of a complaint that medical marijuana purchased last weekend contained mold growth. The related product batch was retested, and DHSS found no evidence that the product batch presents a health and safety concern. Read

7/13/20--The FBI has once again requested records from Independence City Hall, the latest in a series of inquiries by federal authorities over the last year that appear to be focused on a pair of utilities contracts and medical marijuana regulations. Read

7/6/20--WeedCerts says it approved thousands of medical marijuana patients. The St. Louis company is at the center of a state investigation into about 600 fake certifications. Officials with the Department of Health and Senior Services and the attorney general’s office haven’t said whether they believe Lou Moynihan, who was instrumental in the launch of the company WeedCerts last year, knew or participated in the fraudulent activity, which the state believes occurred through telemedicine visits. Read

6/22/20--Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division ordered Shawn Harrison, Kristie Harrison, Kevin Larson and their company Cannabis Plus Missouri LLC to cease and desist after they allegedly committed fraud in offering and selling unregistered securities. The division ordered the Harrisons, Larson and their company to show cause why they should not be ordered to pay restitution plus interest, civil penalties and investigation costs totaling at least $21,000. Read

6/19/20--Missouri's medical marijuana program announced late Friday that it launched an investigation after it determined that patient medical marijuana cards have been issued to applicants whose doctor paperwork was sent in with an unauthorized signature. Read

6/8/20--Missouri lobbyist Steve Tilley, reportedly under state and federal scrutiny, had direct contact with state medical marijuana officials as they were developing the program’s regulations and taking business license applications. According to The Kansas City Star, medical marijuana license applicants raised the question of whether he received an unfair advantage in terms of access and influence. Read

6/5/20--The Department of Health and Senior Services has released the Missouri Medical Marijuana Regulatory Program’s annual report to Gov. Parson. Reported activities are based on the program year of December 6, 2018, through December 5, 2019. Read

5/29/20--Scrutiny of Missouri’s medical cannabis licensing recently escalated to Gov. Mike Parson’s office and a close adviser, apparently making the investigation among the first MMJ licensing probes to extend to the highest levels of state government. Read

5/15/20--Republican lawmakers in Missouri, who had projected confidence in meeting their goals at the beginning of the session, were forced to downsize their ambitions to fit a COVID-19-shortened time frame. The 2020 session saw lawmakers divided not just by party lines but by 6 feet of social distance. Read

5/1/20--Saint Louis University is offering its first online certificate in Cannabis Science and Operations. This certificate will educate students in all aspects of the cannabis industry, including cultivating, growing, and production as well as dispensing and understanding the pharmacological properties of cannabis. Graduates of this certificate will be prepared to pursue positions in sales and marketing, dispensary management, quality assurance and laboratory technology, to name a few. Read

3/13/20--While neither the Department of Health and Senior Services or any of the dispensaries they've licensed have confirmed opening dates, online sources speculate a mid-2020 launch of Missouri's legal cannabis industry. Keep an eye on the DHSS website for the latest updates and regulatory news. Weedmaps outlines information about what should be known about purchasing cannabis in Missouri. Read

3/15/20--Two individuals involved in controversial energy projects in Independence that have drawn FBI scrutiny submitted a formal proposal to help repurpose a separate, soon-to-be shuttered Blue Valley Municipal Power Generating Plant into a biofuels production facility “to provide alternative fuels for the future.” Read

3/3/20--Lawmakers have begun digging through the constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana, and in some cases, they don’t like what they see — and they’re intent on making changes. Read

3/3/20--More than 800 appeals have been filed by people who were denied state permits to grow, sell or distribute medical marijuana in Missouri. According to Joe Ingrande of Troy, Mo., who thought he had a good chance to open a dispensary in Bowling Green, says there was "something funny about the test, and there was too much ambiguity." Ingrade also states he was told priority would be given to pick local people, but he says many of the winners appear to be corporations from out-of-state. Read

1/17/20--Missouri activists are gearing up for a push to put marijuana legalization on the state’s November ballot. A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize for adult use, which was submitted last year, has been cleared for signature gathering by the secretary of state, which certified the ballot title last month. Read

11/6/19--A year after Missouri voters approved medical marijuana, News 4 checked in with the state to get an update. Currently, there are no medical marijuana facilities in Missouri but over 20,000 applications have been submitted for facilities. To start, the state said they will only approve about 350 licenses for manufacturing and dispensaries. Read

8/19/19--The medical marijuana facility application period closed at 4:30 p.m. today, and the Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) received approximately 2,100 applications by the extended deadline. Applications are from those hoping to obtain licenses from DHSS for cultivation, dispensary, manufacturing, testing laboratory, and transportation facilities for the state’s medical marijuana program. Read

8/22/19--Missouri collected $13-million dollars in fees after receiving more than 2,000 business applications to grow and sell medical marijuana. More than 1,200 applications were submitted in the final three days including 800 in the final 24 hours. Read

8/23/19--Despite the known risks to using marijuana while pregnant, including impaired brain development for the fetus, nothing in Missouri’s new medical marijuana law prevents other doctors from helping pregnant patients obtain the drug. Doctors are only required to discuss the risks. Read

5/9/19--Missouri’s medical marijuana industry players have already donated more than $15,000 to a political action committee controlled by Gov. Mike Parson, whose administration will decide who gets growing licenses and what regulations they’ll face. There’s no law against giving money to politicians as they’re making decisions that directly affect the donor’s business — but, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board's recently published editorial, there should be. Read

5/7/19--Tainted or contaminated marijuana is real, and documented cases from around the country show people getting sick or even possibly dying from it. Medical marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, and it’s not regulated by the FDA. Therefore, states decide if the plants or products will be tested. Testing informs labels and keeps the product free from contaminants. Read

4/14/19--Jefferson City is pursuing ways to regulate medical marijuana facilities, including proposing a required buffer between these facilities and some schools, churches and child care centers. On May 20, the Jefferson City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on the proposed zoning code amendment that outlines some medical marijuana facility regulations. Read

1/1/19--Missouri doctors and patients have legal protections under the state’s constitution to discuss medical marijuana as a treatment option for the first time beginning on Dec. 6, the day the law went into effect allowing doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients with serious and debilitating illnesses. As implementation of the law rolls out in Missouri, it’s important that doctors and patients begin their conversations about treatment early. Read

12/6/18--Medical marijuana is now the law in Missouri. However, the drug won't be available to patients right away. The Department of Health and Senior Services is still working on rules and regulations surrounding the licensing of dispensaries and cultivators, as well as how patients will obtain licenses. Read

11/6/18--Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana, passed by a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent. Under the new law, qualified patients who have approval from their physicians will receive identification cards from the state that will allow them and their registered caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants and purchase at least four ounces of marijuana from dispensaries on a monthly basis. Read

 

10/5/18--With about one month left until voters head to the polls, things are heating up in the fight to legalize marijuana for medical use in Missouri. New Approach Missouri, Missouri NORML, St. Louis’s NAACP chapter, Freedom Incorporated, and the St. Louis American newspaper are all supporting Amendment 2. This amendment would tax retail marijuana sales at four percent, and the third initiative, Missourians for Patient Care-backed Proposition C, would impose a two percent sales tax rate. Read

8/31/18--Cole County Judge Patricia Joyce dismissed a lawsuit that sought to remove an initiative that would legalize marijuana for medical use from the November ballot. It was filed by a rival who is trying to remove two other competing proposals from the ballot. Read

8/13/18--Brad Bradshaw, a Springfield doctor and attorney, is the organizer of one of the three medical marijuana initiatives slated for the November election. He is suing to get the other two initiatives removed from the ballot. Bradshaw is arguing that one campaign collected signatures unlawfully and that the other failed to collect enough. Bradshaw also filed a motion for expedited discovery, asking that depositions be conducted within the next 30 days because the general election is less than three months away. The secretary of state must certify the November ballot by Aug. 28. Read

10/25/17--Democratic Alderwoman Megan Green introduced a bill that would prohibit the city from enforcing marijuana laws, essentially allowing residents to use, sell, and grow marijuana. Specifically, Green's bill would allow only for penalties for anyone using marijuana under age 21, selling to someone under 21, or possessing more than two ounces or more than 10 marijuana plants for cultivation. Consumption beyond private residential property would be limited. Read

10/13/17--With less than six months to go, New Approach Missouri's proposal to legalize medicinal use of marijuana appears to be in a strong position to get on statewide ballots next year. The proposal would allow licensed physicians to recommend marijuana or related products for patients suffering from dozens of specified illnesses. It also calls for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to issue licenses to growers and to retailers. So far, there’s no organized opposition in Missouri to any of the pro-marijuana proposals. However, New Approach Missouri expects that to change if it makes the ballot. Read

6/27/17--All of the marijuana legalization initiative-petition proposals in Missouri seeking to amend the state constitution face a tough challenge. Roughly 190,000 signatures from registered voters in at least six congressional districts are required in order to get on the 2018 ballot. At the moment, the group that has the best chance is New Approach Missouri. It has raised the most money for its initiative petition drive to legalize marijuana for the treatment of dozens of diseases. Read

5/25/17--The Missouri Marijuana Legalization Movement (MMLM) has put together an initiative petition for 100 percent legalization of cannabis in Missouri. The Secretary of State has approved a petition for circulation that will put that question in front of the voters of Missouri on Nov. 8, 2018. Read

4/3/17--Voters will decide if they want to decriminalize marijuana in Kansas City, Missouri. If approved, someone caught with less than 35 grams of marijuana would face a maximum fine of $25 and not face jail time. It would also remove marijuana from the prohibition against drug paraphernalia. Read

2/17/17--The nonprofit New Approach Missouri began collecting signatures this week for its bid to change the state's constitution to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to people with conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's. They're a full year ahead of last cycle's schedule, when organizers had just three months to gather about 160,000 signatures before the May deadline. Read

12/5/16--Missouri has experienced some ups and downs when it comes to marijuana reform efforts, order but the Kansas City NORML chapter has led an effort to gather signatures to put marijuana decriminalization on the ballot. It was announced recently that the effort met its signature goal. The initiative would make possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana an infraction instead of a crime, punishable by a $25 fine. Read

10/28/16--Columbia attorney Dan Viets hopes to get a medical marijuana proposal on the statewide ballot in 2018. Viets says the Missouri Legislature is never going to pass what he calls a “good” medical marijuana law. Viets believes it’s unrealistic to try to eliminate the use of both drugs, because pain is a reality. He says that the treatment of pain requires the use of these substances, adding that “to the extent that we can substitute cannabis for opioid drugs, we will save lives”. Read