Key Procedures for Medical Marijuana Providers in Missouri

In November 2018, Missouri passed a Constitutional Amendment allowing medical marijuana.

The deadline to submit an application to assist as a transportation, testing, cultivation, dispensary, or manufacturing facility was August 19, 2019.  The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is required to approve or deny applications by January 16, 2020.

A third-party blind scorer will review and score the Evaluation Criteria Scoring Questions for all facility applications. Based on the scoring results, DHSS will license 60 cultivation facilities, 192 dispensaries, 86 medical marijuana-infused manufacturing facilities and 10 testing laboratory facilities. Applications must be approved or denied by DHSS within 150 days of the application submission date.  At the latest, that would be by January 16, 2020.

If your company’s application to assist with medical marijuana in Missouri as a transportation, testing, cultivation, dispensary, or manufacturing facility is approved, the Goosmann Law Firm is happy to help you navigate the important process of implementing procedures to comply with Missouri regulations. 

These Missouri statutes and regulations allowing the production and sale of medical marijuana are technically in conflict with federal law.  There has been an add-on to federal spending bills called the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment which prohibits the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.  However, enforcement would likely only be limited pursuant to the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment if you are in strict compliance with state law.

It will be very important to ensure that all approved providers have procedures in strict compliance with Missouri regulations, these include:

• All owners who hold any portion of the economic or voting interest of the facility who will also have access to medical marijuana or the medical marijuana facility, and all officers, directors, board members, managers, and employees identified in the application, must have submitted fingerprints within the previous six (6) months for a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background check to be conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol;
• Items noted in 19 CSR 30- 95.025(4)
  • That the entity is majority owned by natural persons who have been residents of Missouri for at least one (1) year;
  • That the entity is not under substantially common control as another entity or a combination of other entities in violation of 19 CSR 20-95.040(3)(C-D);
  • That the entity is not within one thousand (1000) feet of an existing elementary or secondary school, daycare, or church, or, if a local government allows for closer proximity to schools, daycares, and churches, that the entity complies with the local government’s requirements;
  • The entity has authority and is eligible to operate in a local jurisdiction;
  • That the entity will not be owned, in whole or in part, or have as an officer, director, board member, or manager, any individual with a disqualifying felony offense.
  • plans to ensure safety and security of qualifying patients and the community,
  • procedures to be used to prevent diversion,
  • plan for making medical marijuana available to low-income qualifying patients
  • Site security;

This advice is not provided to avoid federal law, and all companies involved in the medical marijuana business should understand that their actions are still prohibited by federal law.

Angela Madathil is a Business, M&A, and Deal Attorney and provides legal assistance to medical marijuana providers and those providing ancillary services in Missouri, and Kansas.   This can involve reviewing loan commitments, loan documents, general contract review and negotiation, due diligence assistance, and post-sale integration.  The Goosmann Law Firm team advises to buyers and sellers of businesses, as well as business brokers throughout the Midwest and has attorneys licensed in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and other states.