All cannabis licenses in Missouri provide both adult-use and medical marijuana. Although adult-use sales far outweigh MMJ sales in Missouri( with $ 1.34 billion from adult-use and $ 173.69 million from medical in 2025, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services [ 1, 2, 3 ]), there is no doubt that a huge portion of those adult-use sales are from people using cannabis for medical purposes who either never obtained their medical marijuana ID cards or did not renew them.
If Missouri cannabis industry license holders can receive tax breaks( deductions) only on their MMJ sales, one would expect a major industry-wide push to encourage cannabis consumers to obtain their MMJ cards. One could also reason that those tax savings might lead to lower prices for consumers.
Beyond the long-needed tax benefits of cannabis rescheduling, the research requirements for Schedule III substances are generally less stringent than the requirements for Schedule I. The final order appears to facilitate marijuana research by allowing researchers to use state-legal marijuana rather than relying on existing DEA-registered sources.
The CRA says:
● Researchers will no longer need a Schedule I license from the DEA to do research with marijuana. They will need to get a Schedule III license – which is an easier process and lowers some of the storage and reporting requirements.
Thankfully, Missouri isn’ t waiting on the federal government to start the research process for cannabis. On May 1st, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services( DHSS) proposed new rules for unlimited marijuana research licenses( 19 CSR 100-1.200), allowing universities, private companies, and existing licensees to study cannabis safety, cultivation, and consumption. These licenses permit research involving human and animal subjects but prohibit the sale of final products to consumers. The following are some of the proposed rules that can be found on the Missouri Register on the Secretary of State’ s website at the time of writing this article. Research licenses will be able to:
1. Acquire and transfer marijuana products from a licensed medical or marijuana facility. 2. Cultivate marijuana. 3. Process or manufacture marijuana products. 4. Store marijuana products on-site. 5. Transfer marijuana products to or from a testing facility or another marijuana research facility. 6. Sell or donate marijuana products to another marijuana research facility. 7. Sell or transfer marijuana seeds and clones produced from a research study to a licensed cultivation facility.
8. Acquire and transfer marijuana seeds from entities not licensed under this chapter if doing so does not violate state or federal law. 9. Perform research on marijuana products. 10. Perform research on animal and human subjects related to the use of marijuana products. 11. Perform testing on marijuana products. 12. Enter into contracts or agreements with a public institution or another marijuana research facility to conduct a research study. 13. Share space with a cultivation, manufacturing, dispensary, or testing facility.
14. Administer final marijuana products to animal subjects, human subjects above the age of twenty-one( 21), or human subjects under the age of twenty-one( 21) with a medical marijuana patient identification card, provided that the licensee has met all requirements of this chapter.
Proposed rules 7 and 8 are the most important rules for cultivation licensees in Missouri. These rules would allow them to bring new genetics into their facilities from out of state, which they are currently prevented from doing after their first year of operation( referred to as the“ Immaculate Conception” phase). This means Missouri will be leading the nation in cannabis research, and consumers will benefit by not only gaining access to newly tested genetics but also receiving a clearer explanation of the effects those genetics will have on them.
Regarding the federal rescheduling of marijuana, there remains significant uncertainty regarding its broader implications beyond the decisions made thus far. However, on June 29th, a new expedited administrative hearing process will be held to consider the broader rescheduling of cannabis. The Federal Register filing on the hearing states that it“ will conclude no later than July 15th.”
One thing is certain: Missouri’ s Cannabis Industry is the BEST of any state’ s cannabis program and remains one step ahead of the Federal government when it comes to cannabis research. As we celebrate our magazine’ s 7th year of publishing educational content about the potential health benefits of cannabis and Missouri’ s cannabis industry news, we look forward to many years of sharing all the exciting cannabis news on the horizon.
Stay safe and stay tuned!
Clayton Stallings is the Director of Sales & Marketing for
The EVOLUTION Magazine
JUNE 2026 25