Missouri’s Medical Cannabis Laws

Missouri’s Medical
Cannabis Laws

Medical cannabis was legalized in Missouri in November 2018. Under the law, any person over the age of 18, with a physician’s recommendation and a qualifying condition, can apply for a medical cannabis license. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is responsible for all private and dispensary licensing and issuing of medical cannabis ID cards.

Caregivers for patients under the age of 18 may also apply for a medical cannabis license through the DHSS after obtaining the recommendation of a physician.

Physician recommendations must be reviewed annually, and licenses must be obtained on a yearly basis at a cost of $25.

Qualifying Medical Conditions

There are a select group of conditions that qualify a person to apply for a medical cannabis license.

These conditions include cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, migraines, chronic pain, debilitating psychiatric disorders, HIV, AIDS, any terminal illness, a chronic medical condition treated by habit-forming prescription medications, and any other chronic or debilitating medical conditions at the physician’s discretion.

Dispensary Licensing

Under Missouri medical cannabis laws, applicants must apply to the DHSS fordispensary licenses. The last round of licensing took place at the end of 2019 and thenext round of licensing is expected to be announced at least six months prior to the next application window opening.

Dispensary licenses don’t come cheap, with a non-refundable $6,000 fee to apply and an annual $10,000 fee to operate. An individual entity may apply for up to five dispensary licenses at a time.

Possession Laws for Medical Cannabis Patients

As a medical cannabis patient, there are restrictions on how much cannabis an individual can possess at any given time. Missouri
state law dictates that a medical cannabis patient may grow up to six (6) flowering cannabis plants and possess a 90-day supply of dried cannabis
(if they are growing plants). If cannabis is not being cultivated on the individual’s property, they may possess a 60-day supply of dried cannabis.

Let’s say that a physician recommends two grams per day for a patient. This means that the individual can produce six flowering plants and possess
up to 180 grams of dried cannabis at any given time. If the individual is not growing cannabis, they may possess up to 120 grams of dried cannabis.

Cannabis Packaging

All cannabis packaging must be opaque and childproof. The packaging must be clearly labelled as a cannabis or cannabis infused product and not be appealing to minors.

Packaging must not contain any health benefit claims and comply with all state laws regarding cannabis warnings.

Taxes and Inventory Tracking

All purchases made at legal Missouri medical dispensaries are subject to a 4% sales tax. Revenue from this tax is earmarked for distribution to healthcare services, job training, housing assistance, and veteran services.

All inventory must be managed through seed-to-sale tracking to avoid diversion to the black market. This also ensures compliance with state inventory management laws.