Summer is flying by as we celebrate our fifth year , and so have the past four years . Like the summer storms many experienced during July , knocking trees down and power outages , our first four years blew by very quickly . Almost just as fast , we went from only offering medical cannabis with the first sale on October 17 , 2020 , to the first adult-use sale on February 3 , 2023 . In a short two years and five months , Missouri legalized cannabis sales and use for every citizen who chooses to purchase or grow their own . The winds of change happen quickly .
Change within this industry will continue to appear for consumers . You may have visited a dispensary in 2021 , shopped there , and loved the company , its available products , and helpful budtenders , only to pull into the parking lot today and find a new business name on the storefront . You ’ re thinking — what the heck !
At the conception of the Missouri cannabis industry , DHSS ( Article XIV Missouri Constitution ) awarded the first 192 dispensary licenses in January 2020 . At that time , the rules stated up to 5 cannabis dispensary licenses , and / or 3 cultivation licenses , and / or 3 manufacturing licenses may be issued to “ any entity under substantially common control , ownership , or management .” There were also a host of rules and regulations requiring Missouri residents to hold majority ownerships — I won ’ t bore you with all those original details . Apparently , they ’ ve changed as well .
Today , a short two years and five months after the first dispensary sold an item , there are obvious changes to the original licensing rules . You only need to look at the dispensary listings on pages 50 , 51 , 52 , and 53 within this issue to find multiple companies with more than five dispensaries — some far more . Businesses are being bought and sold so fast that we are not always formally notified of those changes in time to verify and update the listings prior to press time . We will do our best to keep the dispensary listings current for you . Meanwhile , don ’ t be surprised if you arrive at a dispensary and find the business name on the building different from what is listed within .
On page 58 is our list of doctors who provide medical marijuana certifications . It also continues to change — it ’ s shrinking . Since the passage of adult use and the change from one-year certifications and renewals to three years , and allowing nurse practitioners to provide patient certifications , doctors are dropping out and closing business locations . For some , the change to three-year renewals , which is attractive for the patient , slashes revenues for doctors to the point where running a business focused on such certifications is not sustainable .
Think about this . Where would we be today regarding legally purchasing cannabis for medical use without doctors willing to step forward and provide their services , allowing a patient a medical use certification ? The answer : no dispensary would have opened in 2020 , no sales until adult use passed , and dispensaries would not have opened until February 3 , 2023 . We would have been two years behind with the amount and wide selection of products available . In 2020 and early 2021 , basically , only flower and a few edibles were available for sale .
Applying for and retaining medical cannabis cards are still a good idea . Having a medical card will save you money on your purchases . Medical patient sales tax is fixed at 4 % in Missouri . Missouri will tax 6 % of every recreational ( adult-use ) sale , and individual cities can tack on another 3 %, so consider that when gathering cash for your purchase . Qualifying for a medical patient card can be for various health issues and common conditions like insomnia , depression , migraines , arthritis , pain , and more . Learn more at www . medicalmarijuana . mo . gov .
Yep , the times are changing as fast as the seasons .
6 August 2023
From The Editor
Bill Cromwell , Publisher , Editor-in-Chief
Name Changes & Disappearing Doctors
Missouri ’ s First Educational Medical Cannabis Magazine Published Monthly by Native Kansas City , MO , Advocates , Publishers and Writers . A True Missouri Born Grassroots Effort to Educate and Inform Patients , and to Provide Businesses within The Missouri Cannabis Industry an Economical Forum to Share Their Story . We hope you join and enjoy “ The EVOLUTION .”
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