It’ s an Ever-Changing Industry
Feature Story
Important Things You Need to Know for Our 7th Anniversary Issue
It’ s an Ever-Changing Industry
by Clayton Stallings, contributing writer
It was seven years ago, in June 2019, that we launched the very first issue of The EVOLUTION Magazine. Our goal was just as focused back then as it is today, to“ break the stigma of cannabis through health and wellness information and education.” I remember that first issue like it was just yesterday. It was finally my opportunity to step out of the shadows of the legacy cannabis market and say all the things that I wanted to say after 20-plus years of hiding in secrecy. We also had front-row seats to the conception and birth of Missouri’ s Cannabis Industry, and we reported each step through this ever-changing industry to our new and very dedicated readers.
The first issue, June 2019.
Despite the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Missouri and the subsequent surge in adult-use sales over medical sales, we remained steadfast in our commitment to providing Missouri’ s only monthly printed, comprehensive, free-to-the-public health and wellness cannabis publication.
Now, FINALLY, our federal government is recognizing the health benefits of medical cannabis and has moved it from Schedule I to Schedule III. What does this mean?
MoCannTrade shared information with us from the Cannabis Regulators Association( CRA), a national, nonpartisan association of government agencies and regulators of cannabis and cannabinoids. The following, in italics, are a few of the most important takeaways offered by the CRA.
● This order moves ONLY medical marijuana— in the form of FDA approved marijuana drugs and state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. The final order creates federal legality for medical marijuana products from U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration( DEA) approved licenses. The order does NOT legalize marijuana federally.
On April 29th, the Drug Enforcement Administration’ s( DEA)“ Medical Marijuana Dispensary Registration Portal” went live, allowing all states’ medical marijuana( MMJ) license holders to register with the DEA. However, MMJ license holders do not currently need to register with the DEA to be exempt from the federal tax provision 280E.
The CRA says:
● Medical marijuana products and the companies that make them are no longer subject to the federal tax provision 280E, which has prohibited businesses from deducting common business expenses( ex. marketing) and operating costs if they are involved in trafficking a Schedule I or II controlled substance. The order indicates that the 280E tax burden is removed for state medical marijuana licensed businesses, regardless of whether they pursue a DEA license.
● The order encouraged the Secretary of Treasury to consider providing retrospective relief from 280E liability for taxable years in which the licensee held a state medical marijuana license.
● The US Department of Treasury has already issued notice that they will be issuing forthcoming tax guidance related to the final order.
● The order makes it clear that non-medical, recreational marijuana is still Schedule I. This means those businesses would NOT be eligible for full business tax deductions – 280E would still apply.
This causes a bit of confusion for cannabis license holders in Missouri because when adult-use( aka, recreational) passed, all adult-use licenses were issued to medical marijuana license holders.
24 JUNE 2026