BY: REBECCA RIVAS
Missouri Independent
The application window to win one of 77 microbusiness marijuana licenses through a lottery selection will open July 13-27.
The selection lottery is scheduled to take place on Sept. 9, and the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation expects to issue the licenses in December, according to a press release issued Monday.
Microbusinesses are marijuana facility licenses that are issued to eligible entities and individuals and are designed to allow marginalized or underrepresented individuals to participate in the legal marijuana market, the release states.
Lesley Turek, the division’s chief equity officer, has been traveling the state this month to educate people about the application process.
“I really feel strongly that the microbusiness licensees are a community of people, first and foremost, that support each other,” she said. “They’re the ones that are making this program move forward, so I’m looking forward to meeting some new people and sharing as much as I can about the program. It’s a great program.”
A big part of what she’s been covering are the new rules that went into effect at the end of May — rules cannabis regulators proposed in 2024 after they revoked numerous licenses due to unconstitutional ownership deals.
The new rules, she said, allow regulators to complete an extensive review before the licenses are issued, rather than afterwards. They also provide a deeper explanation of what it means to “majority own and operate” a license, which is a requirement in the Constitution.
They mandate that regulators communicate directly with majority owners and that applicants take a course on compliance before applying and after receiving the license.
The microbusiness program was established through the 2022 constitutional amendment voters approved to legalize recreational marijuana.
In Missouri, there are seven categories where people could qualify for a microbusiness license, ranging from a lower income level or living in an area considered impoverished to having past arrests or incarcerations related to marijuana offenses.
Applicants pay a $1,500 application fee that’s refundable if they don’t get picked. The Missouri Lottery will pick 77 applicants for licenses to open up either dispensaries or cultivation facilities. The goal is to fill the remaining slots in the minimum 144 microbusiness licenses mandated by the Constitution.
Turek believes the application is pretty straightforward and something people can complete on their own, unlike the much more complicated application for comprehensive licenses.
“We have lots of tutorials, and we have a step-by-step guide that we provide as well,” she said. “Anybody could sit down and do the application. I don’t think it’s challenging.”
The part that most people don’t often understand is everything that comes with being a marijuana facility owner.
“It’s very expensive, it’s very regulated, and so it’s challenging,” she said. “I want to make sure people have a clear understanding beforehand, so that they can make a good decision about whether or not they want to apply to this program.”
A big part of her presentation is focused on the fact that the licenses must be majority owned and operated by eligible individuals, she said. They have to hold more than 50% of ownership and more than 50% of the power to direct the decisions that are made with the license.
“It’s more than just ownership percentage,” she said. “It is really about being able to have that control of it.”
She also talks about the designated contact, and why in the new rule regulators will require the designated contact to be the applicant or an eligible person who holds majority ownership.
The designated-contact role was envisioned as a way to ensure clear communication between the state and licensees.
Instead, state regulators discovered many designated contacts have kept the actual eligible applicants in the dark about business and license dealings. Applicants get locked into agreements that limit their voting power and profits in the business.
That’s also why the state is now requiring a pre-application training, which is a three-video online course to ensure that applicants have an understanding of “potential predatory practices,” regulators stated in responses to public comments in the rulemaking process.
The press release states that those needing assistance with eligibility requirements or application forms can contact facility application services at CannabisFAS@health.mo.gov.