But some business owners tell 41 Action News they were caught off guard by an additional hurdle imposed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which oversees the industry, before growers can put seeds in the ground.
After each of the 338 medical marijuana license holders is verified by the state, they have to go through an additional verification process.
"Once those 338 were were chosen by merit, then the department of health did a verification process where they go through the application with a license holders then they prove that everything they put on the application was accurate, correct and conforms to the department’s rules," MoCannTrade spokesman Jack Cardetti said.
But there's a final step, called a commencement inspection, before cultivators, manufacturers and dispensaries can start up "where they actually come on site, look at your facility, make sure it has all the security that you said it was going to have, make sure it has all the promises that were made in the application were followed through on," Cardetti said.
Only two of 60 cultivators have made it through that process so far near St. Louis.
Copyright
© 420 Intel