Overview

The state of Missouri legalized adult-use cannabis in 2022, through a Ballot measure, Amendment 3, which established a lottery selection process that will award licenses and certificates to be distributed equally to each congressional district. Access to cannabis is through state-licensed businesses that are allowed to grow, manufacture and sell adult-use cannabis.

The department shall make license application forms and application instructions for marijuana microbusiness facilities available to the public in June 2023. The department shall start accepting applications from applicants in July 2023. Missouri will issue 48 microbusiness licenses via a lottery in their first application round.

Licensing Opportunities for Missouri Social Equity Cannabis Businesses 

• Microbusiness license is a marijuana facility license issued only to eligible individuals and entities. These licenses are essentially small businesses that are designed to allow marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the legal marijuana market. A microbusiness applicant in Missouri is an applicant that meets at least one of the following criteria:
  • Have a net worth of less than $250,000 and have an income below two hundred and fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level; or
  • Have a valid service-connected disability card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or successor agency; or
  • Be a person who has been or a person whose parent, guardian, or spouse has been arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of a non-violent marijuana offense, except for a conviction involving provision of marijuana to a minor, or a conviction of driving under the influence of marijuana. The arrest, charge, or conviction must have occurred at least one year prior to the effective date of this section; or
  • Reside in a ZIP code or census tract area where:
    • Thirty percent (30%) or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level; or
    • The rate of unemployment is fifty percent (50%) higher than the state average rate of unemployment; or
    • The historic rate of incarceration for marijuana related offenses is fifty percent (50%) higher than the rate for the entire state; or
  • Graduated from a school district that was unaccredited, or had a similar successor designation, at the time of graduation, or has lived in a zip code containing an unaccredited school district, or similar successor designation, for three of the past five years

Missouri Social Equity Cannabis Business Licenses

• Microbusiness Dispensary Facility means a facility licensed by the department to acquire, process, package, store on site or off site, sell, transport to or from, and deliver marijuana, marijuana seeds, marijuana vegetative cuttings, marijuana-infused products, and drug paraphernalia used to administer marijuana to a qualifying patient or primary caregiver, or to a consumer, anywhere on the licensed property or to any address as directed by the patient, primary caregiver, or consumer, to a comprehensive facility, a marijuana testing facility, or a medical facility. Transactions may be received from the consumer in person, by phone, or via the internet, including from a third party. Shall include the authority to create prerolls.
  • State will be issuing a total of 48 microbusiness dispensary licenses: 16 microbusiness dispensary licenses in 2023, another 16 microbusiness dispensary in 2024, and another 16 microbusiness dispensary in 2024.
  • Licensing Application Fees: $1,500 per license application (refundable); $1,500 annual fee
• Microbusiness Wholesale Facility means a facility licensed by the department to acquire, cultivate, process, package, store on site or off site, manufacture, transport to or from, deliver, and sell marijuana, marijuana seeds, marijuana vegetative cuttings, and marijuana-infused products to a microbusiness dispensary facility, other microbusiness wholesale facility, or marijuana testing facility. A microbusiness may cultivate up to 250 flowering marijuana plants at any given time. A microbusiness wholesale facility’s authority to process marijuana shall include the creation of prerolls and infused prerolls.
  • State will be issuing a total of 96 microbusiness wholesale licenses: 32 microbusiness dispensary licenses in 2023, another 32 microbusiness dispensary in 2024, and another 32 microbusiness dispensary in 2024.
  • Licensing Application Fees: $1,500 per license application (refundable); $1,500 annual fee

In the first round of licensing, Missouri will issue six microbusiness licenses in each of the Missouri congressional districts, for a total of 48 microbusiness licenses. Of the six in each district, two will be microbusiness dispensaries, and four will be wholesale facilities

Are you interested in obtaining a cannabis business license in Missouri? Are you seeking guidance on developing an effective business plan? Call us to speak with an industry expert at 602-290-9424.