Proposed Missouri zip codes for marijuana microbusinesses under fire

May 31, 2023 · MJ Biz Daily

Social equity advocates in Missouri are questioning the validity of numerous zip codes submitted by law enforcement that would qualify residents to apply for cannabis microbusiness licenses.

Leaders of the local and state NAACP are criticizing the inclusion of several zip codes that encompass government buildings, post office boxes and affluent suburbs, while omitting several others primarily in north St. Louis, where roughly half the city’s Black population resides.

The microbusiness licenses were designed to allow “marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the legal marijuana market,” according to an April news release issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the state’s cannabis regulator.

Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP, told the Missouri Independent he was shocked to see certain zip codes, like suburban Clayton, included among the areas deemed with historic high rates of incarceration or arrests for low-level marijuana-related offenses.

“There is no way in the world the people in Clayton have been arrested more than the people who live in North St. Louis,” he told the newspaper.

“It’s impossible.”

The list of eligible zip codes was provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the publication reported.

Missouri plans to license an initial round of 48 cannabis microbusinesses via a lottery in October.

The initial framework of Missouri’s adult-use cannabis program drew criticism St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, the Missouri NAACP and the Missouri Democratic party for its limited-license, vertically integrated structure that essentially allowed the state’s nearly 200 medical marijuana retailers to enter the expanded market at launch.

The detractors cited the law’s potential negative impact on minorities, people of color, and low-income residents.

The Midwestern market, which launched recreational sales on Feb. 3, is off to a sizzling start and on pace to break $1 billion in sales in its first full year.

Like many other markets during the rollout of recreational retail, strong demand from medical marijuana patients as well as local and out-of-state consumers has resulted in product shortages and an early spike in wholesale prices. (Full Story)

In category:Dispensaries
Tags:
Next Post

Red White & Bloom Makes Headway in U.S. Cannabis Market

The company said it plans to open five more stores in Florida. Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (OTC: RWBYF) posted its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2023. The company posted revenues that ticked down over the…
Read
Previous Post

The Cheers of Cannabis Cafes - Massachusetts Plans New Pot Cafe Rollout

Regulators in the Massachusetts marijuana industry made a decision this past Monday to abandon previous plans for a limited pilot program involving cannabis cafes and social consumption sites in twelve municipalities. One official said this move would help get the voter-approved market sector…
Read
Random Post

Capital Markets Are Down but Not Quite Dead

A potent concoction of slowing capital markets and inactivity in Washington D.C. bears the majority of blame for the industry’s lackluster fundraising performance in 2023, but poor growth and contracting margins are what’s really been keeping investors away. According to…
Read
Random Post

I've been taking psychedelic mushrooms with my mom for 14 years. It's brought us closer together.

My first experience with psychedelics was with my mom when I was 22. We decided to grow our own when we couldn't find mushrooms in Alabama. After 14 years, we still take mushrooms together, and it has brought our family…
Read
Random Post

Maryland Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Now In Effect

About eight months after Maryland voters passed the state’s cannabis legalization initiative, adult-use sales launched in the state on Saturday, July 1. According to a Forbes report, the flip from medical to adult-use sales has increased the number of consumers available to…
Read
Random Post

New York Governor Begins Review of Weed Legalization Rollout

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that her administration will conduct an assessment of the state’s rollout of legal recreational marijuana, saying that the review is needed to ensure the success of the regulated cannabis market.  New York lawmakers…
Read