Missouri Opens Third Cannabis Microbusiness License Round Next Month

The application window for cannabis microbusiness licenses in Missouri opens next month. Online applications will be accepted July 13-27, and it is the third round of microbusiness license applications in the state.   

In a press release, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) said there are 77 licenses available, which are issued to eligible entities and individuals considered marginalized or underrepresented in the legal cannabis market. Licenses are available to retailers or wholesale facilities that do not currently hold any other cannabis licenses in the state.   

According to the agency’s eligibility requirements for the licenses, eligible applicants must have a net worth of less than $250,000 and have had an income below 250% of the federal poverty level in the applicable calendar year’s federal poverty income guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for at least three of the 10 calendar years prior to the application; have a valid service-connected disability card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; has been, or whose parent, guardian, or spouse has been arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of a non-violent cannabis offense at least one year prior to the passage of the adult-use cannabis law, unless the conviction involved providing cannabis to a minor or for driving under the influence of cannabis; or resided in a ZIP code or census tract area where 30% or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level; or where the rate of unemployment 50% higher than the state average rate of unemployment; or where the historic rate of incarceration for cannabis-related offenses is 50% higher than the rate for the entire state; or the applicant graduated from a school district that was unaccredited at the time of graduation, or has lived in a ZIP code containing an unaccredited school district for three of the past five years. 

The lottery for the licenses is scheduled for September 9, while the licenses are expected to be issued in December.