State-licensed sales of medical cannabis and related cannabis products began this past weekend at a limited number of retailers throughout the state, including at locations in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Voters approved a statewide ballot measure in 2018 legalizing the regulated production and retail distribution of medical cannabis. Home cultivation by qualified patients is also permitted.
State regulators have licensed 192 retailers thus far, with the first of those opening for business on Saturday. Over 22,000 Missourians are registered with the state’s medical access program.
A press release issued by the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHHS), which oversees the program, praised the speed at which regulators were able to get the program up and running – acknowledging that Missouri “had one of the fastest implementations of a medical marijuana program in the United States.”
“A tremendous amount of work has occurred by the licensed facilities and our team to get us to this point, and we continue to hear from more facilities that they are ready or almost ready for their commencement inspection,” said Lyndall Fraker, Director of the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation. “We look forward to seeing these facilities open their doors to serve patients and caregivers.”
DHSS updates its interactive facility map daily to show which dispensaries have been approved to operate. The entire list of licensed facilities can be found here.
Additional information about the program is available online from DHHS here.
