Saving MJ Consumers $ 3 million each month
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Missouri Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Robust / Feel State in Tax Stacking Case
Saving MJ Consumers $ 3 million each month
The EVOLUTION Magazine Newsroom
Since October 1, 2023, dozens of Missouri counties began stacking this unconstitutional tax on top of the legal municipal tax, costing Missouri marijuana customers an additional $ 3 million each month. The lawsuit to stop this unconstitutional tax stacking was brought only days after it began and was supported by the Missouri cannabis industry on behalf of their customers, with Feel State Dispensary( legal name Robust Missouri Dispensary 3, LLC) being the plaintiff in the case and represented by Eric Walters of Armstrong Teasdale.
Under Article 14 of the Missouri Constitution, only municipalities can charge a 3 % tax on the sale of adult-use cannabis in their city limits, whereas counties are allowed to add the 3 % tax on sales in unincorporated areas. This singular local government tax is on top of both the 6 % adult use sales tax levied by the state and the usual state and local sales tax that would go on any other retail product.
MoCannTrade Executive Director Andrew Mullins said about the historic ruling,“ Only days after dozens of Missouri counties began unconstitutionally charging adult-use customers an extra 3 % sales tax in October 2023, MoCannTrade and its industry partners went to court to protect the very customers that make Missouri’ s marijuana program the envy of other states. The recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling will directly save Missouri cannabis customers an estimated $ 3 million every single month.
We asked a few questions of Tyler Hannegan, co-owner and CEO, Robust Missouri Dispensary 3, LLC.
What effect did this tax have on your businesses financially compared to counties without the extra tax before the ruling?
“ With our dispensary located in Florissant, St. Louis County was where the nefarious 3 % tax was mandated out of. In my opinion, Missouri does have an amazing cannabis industry that continues to boom here in the Show-Me State. The addition of nefarious taxation impacted those in an“ incorporated” area of the county versus those operating in an“ unincorporated” zone of the county. By imposing those taxes, different costs were applied to customers( and required operators) within the same municipality to operate differently within the same marketplace. Additionally, more burdensome taxation causes consumers to distrust the industry and pushes them towards the illicit market. Our team at Feel State Dispensary and Robust remains thrilled to be the advocates of our patients and customers that we serve. Though it did take an incredible amount of time and, in all, with the Supreme Court of Missouri, we would respectfully do it again one hundred times out of a hundred.”
How was this a win for your team and Missouri cannabis consumers and patients?
“ It was a breath of fresh air! In our opinion, this was a clear-cut black and white issue that the Supreme Court’ s ruling finally gave us vindication on for addressing our concerns. The overstretch of the state’ s constitutional allowances, the 152 retail licenses that are located in‘ cities,’ were forced to collect a‘ county’ local tax. By not collecting the additional 3 % stacked tax, the consumers across Missouri will save around $ 3 million per month($ 36 million in taxes per year).”
Mullins said,“ Missouri customers already pay their fair share, with sales tax revenue from cannabis in Missouri now tripling original state estimates.
“ The ruling’ s clarity preserves Missouri’ s standing as one of the nation’ s most impactful and accessible cannabis programs, ensuring patients and adult-use consumers continue to benefit from fair pricing, great service, and robust product choice.”
Mullins concluded,“ We applaud the Supreme Court for upholding the constitution and call on all jurisdictions and the Missouri Department of Revenue to implement this decision without delay so Missouri can keep leading the way.
“ It goes without saying, but without your continued support for MoCann and our industry, we would not be able to fight with one voice on behalf of Missouri patients and customers. Thank you for continuing to make Missouri one of the best cannabis programs in the nation!”
30 September 2025