Missouri Cannabis License Application

In Missouri, individuals who wish to apply for a marijuana license must do so through the Department of Health and Senior Services. The The department shall charge each applicant seeking an available medical or marijuana facility license an application fee to be submitted with the application.

The department shall publish the current fees, including any adjustments, on its website at http://cannabis.mo.gov. However, if an applicant meets all criteria for a microbusiness facility license and has no pending or future legal actions, the Department may refund the application fee if they do not win the lottery.MO Marijuana License Application

Once an application is approved, a facility licensee must provide proof of financial responsibility and establish a compliant soundproof production facility that meets all necessary requirements prior to being granted final approval. In addition, they must complete an on-site inspection by the Department’s Marijuana Facility Licensing Inspector.

MO Marijuana License Application Requirements. 

Entities must obtain a license or certification to operate a medical or marijuana facility from the missouri department of health. It will accept applications for facility licenses or certifications for recreational marijuana.

A complete submission must be received by the department in order for your cannabis dispensary license to be complete.  A complete application is required to for a cultivation license as well under the rules found at 19 CSR.  Marijuana licenses in Missouri are hybrid and can also sell into its medical marijuana program. The applications will be accepted by the Department and will be approved or denied after a lottery for only the complete applications.

A complete Missouri marijuana license requirements:

(A) Name and address of the designated contact for the applicant entity;

(B) Legal name of the applicant entity, including fictitious business names;

(C) All owners of the applicant entity, with ownership percentage, and a visual representation of the facility’s ownership structure;

(D) For a testing facility application, a list of all entities licensed or certified or applying for licensure or certification in Missouri to cultivate, manufacture, or dispense marijuana product that are or will be under substantially common control, ownership, or management as the applicant. For each entity listed, a written explanation of how the entity is under substantially common control, ownership, or management as the applicant entity, with supporting documentation;

(E) For a microbusiness facility license application, an attestation that the applicant does not have an owner who is also an owner of an existing medical, comprehensive, or another microbusiness marijuana facility license;

(F) For medical and comprehensive facility applicants, a list of all owners who are also owners of a microbusiness facility license and the relevant microbusiness license number(s);

(G) Proposed address of the facility and—

    • An attestation that the proposed facility location complies with the facility location requirements of this chapter;
    • An attestation that the proposed facility location complies with any facility location requirements of the local government; and
    • A copy of, or hyperlink to, all local government requirements for facility location, such as zoning requirements, if applicable;

(H) Blueprints or floor plans for the facility with all rooms clearly labeled, including purpose and square footage;

(I) For facilities that will be cultivating marijuana, the cultivation practices(s) (indoor, outdoor, or greenhouse) used by the facility, and, if using a combination of practices, the ratio of cultivation space limits for each cultivation practice, as provided in the cultivation section of this chapter;

(J) An attestation that all individuals subject to analysis for disqualifying felony offenses will submit fingerprints within two (2) weeks after the application submission for a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background check to be conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol;

(K) An attestation that no individual subject to analysis for a disqualifying felony offense has a disqualifying felony offense;

(L) All applicable fees; and

(M) For each comprehensive facility applicant, the application shall include a plan that explains how the applicant would serve both the medical and adult-use markets,while maintaining adequate supply at a reasonable cost to qualifying patients, and a plan to promote and encourage participation in the regulated marijuana industry bypeople from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana Prohibition.

MO Marijuana Microbusiness Application Requirements

In addition to the application requirements in section above, microbusiness facility applicants must also provide documents demonstrating eligibility for microbusiness facility ownership as follows:

(A) A valid, government-issued photo ID; and

(B) For applicants claiming a net worth of less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($250,000) and low income:

  1. Sworn financial statements for three (3) of the last ten (10) years, each of which must show net worth of less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($250,000); and
  1. A copy of three (3) of the last ten (10) years of tax returns, each of which must show income below two hundred and fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level during the applicable year.

(C) For applicants claiming a service-connected disability a copy of the front of the applicant’s valid service-connected disability card.

(D) For applicants claiming an arrest, prosecution, or conviction for a non-violentmarijuana offense:

  • A copy of the relevant arrest record; or
  • A copy of the relevant FBI background check; or
  • A certified copy of the relevant prosecutor’s case file; or
  • A letter from the prosecutor’s office indicating the charge filed; or
  • A certified copy of the judgment of conviction; or
  • A certificate of expungement from a court; and
  • If the arrest, prosecution, or conviction was for the applicant’s parent, guardian, or spouse:
  • A valid, government-issued photo ID of the parent, guardian, or spouse; and
  • Proof of relationship:

(I) A certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate; or

(II) A certified copy of the judgment of adoption or guardianship; or

(III) A certified copy of the marriage certificate; and

(E) For applicants claiming residency in a ZIP code or census tract area where either thirty percent (30%) or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level or the rate of unemployment is fifty percent (50%) higher than the state average (for qualifying areas in the state, a list of ZIP codes and census tracts will be published on the department’s website):

  • Two (2) separate types of utility bills (i.e. one water bill, one electric bill) dated within the last four (4) months, which must include:
  1. The name of the applicant;
  2. The dates of service;
  3. The service address; and
  4. The billing address; or
  5. A copy of a current residential lease, which must include the name of the applicant, the full address, the date the lease went in to effect and expires, and an affidavit from the applicant stating the applicant resides at that address; or
  1. A copy of a residential mortgage which includes the name of the applicant and the full address, and an affidavit from the applicant stating the applicant resides at that address; or
  1. A copy of the applicant’s real or personal property taxes, dated within the past twelve (12) months, which must include the applicant’s name and the date assessed; or

(F) For applicants claiming residency in a ZIP code or census tract area where the historic rate of incarceration for marijuana-related offenses is fifty percent (50%) higher than the rate for the entire state:

  1. A certified letter from the local prosecutor’s office verifying compliance with this requirement; and
  1. Two (2) separate types of utility bills (i.e. one water bill, one electric bill) dated within the last four (4) months, which must include:
  1. The name of the applicant;
  2. The dates of service;
  3. The service address; and
  4. The billing address; or
  5. A copy of a current residential lease, which must include the name of the applicant, the full address, the date the lease went in to effect and expires, and an affidavit from the applicant stating the applicant resides at that address; or
  1. A copy of a residential mortgage which includes the name of the applicant and the full address, and an affidavit from the applicant stating the applicant resides at that address; or
  1. A copy of the applicant’s real or personal property taxes, dated within the past twelve (12) months, which must include the applicant’s name and the date assessed; or

(G) For applicants claiming graduation from a school district that was unaccredited, or had a similar successor designation, at the time of graduation, a certified letter from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicating that the applicable school district was unaccredited in the year the applicant claims to have graduated from the school, and:

  1. A certified copy of the applicant’s high school diploma; or
  2. A letter from the applicant’s school, on school letter head, stating that the applicant graduated from the school; or

(H) For applicants claiming residency in a ZIP code containing an unaccredited school district, or similar successor designation, for three (3) of the past five (5)  years, a certified letter from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicating that the applicable school district was unaccredited in the year(s) the applicant claims to have lived there, and:

  1. A copy of two (2) separate types of utility bills (i.e. one water bill, one electric bill,) for each quarter of the three (3) years that the applicant claims to have lived in said location which must include:
  1. The name of the applicant;
  2. The dates of service;
  3. The service address; and
  4. The billing address; or
  5. Copies of residential leases for three (3) of the past five (5) years, which must include the name of the applicant, the full address, and the effective date and the expiration date of the lease; or
  1. A copy of a residential mortgage which includes the name of the applicant and the address, along with an affidavit that the applicant resided at that address during the applicable years; or
  1. A copy of three (3) of the last five (5) years’ real or personal property taxes for the applicant, which must include the applicant’s name, address, and the date; or
  1. An applicant may provide any of the acceptable types documentation for each year they are claiming residency in the ZIP code (i.e., utility bills from one year, lease from a separate year, and property taxes for a third year).

Application Requirements for Off-site Warehouses.

Licensees must obtain a separate certification for each warehouse facility used for storing marijuana product at a location other than the approved location of the licensee. Such requests must be submitted after the licensee’s facility has passed a commencement inspection and shall include at least the following information:

  1. Blueprints for the offsite storage with all rooms clearly labeled, including purpose and square footage;
  2. An attestation that the proposed location for offsite storage complies with the facility location requirements of this chapter and any facility location requirements of the local government;
  3. If the local government in which the offsite storage will be located has enacted applicable zoning restrictions, the text of the restrictions, including the citation to said restrictions, and a description of how the proposed offsite storage will comply with those restrictions;
  4. An attestation that the offsite storage will comply with all other rules applicable to the facility for which the offsite storage is being established;
  5. An administrative and processing fee of five thousand dollars ($5000).

MO Marijuana License Application Approval and Denial Process.

In cases where there are more applicants than available licenses or certificates, the department will select applicants for available licenses or certifications by lottery.

  1. All timely applications submitted with an application fee during an application time period will be considered eligible for the lottery. Untimely applications or applications without an application fee will be denied.
  1. Eligible applications will be assigned an application identifier by the department. The assigned identifiers will be transmitted to the entity conducting the lottery. The individual(s) conducting the lottery will do so without reference to the identities of the applicants.
  1. Identifiers will be randomly drawn and listed in the order drawn. If licenses are issued by congressional district, the identifiers will be randomly drawn and listed in the order drawn within each congressional district.
  1. After listing all identifiers in the order drawn, the department will review the application corresponding to the selected identifier, beginning with the first identifier drawn, to determine if the applicant is eligible for licensure prior to issuing the license.
  1. If during the review period, the department determines an application meets all of the license eligibility requirements in this chapter and Article XIV, the license will be granted.
  1. During the application review period, the department may request the applicant to provide additional information or documents needed to determine eligibility for a license by sending the request to the email address of the designated contact associated with the application. If requested, the applicant will have five (5) days to provide the requested information or documents.

A MO Marijuana application will be denied if:

  • The application is not complete;
  • The applicant, application, or any proposal in the application, is in violation of any rule in this chapter or Article XIV;
  • Awarding a license would result in an entity being an owner in more than ten percent (10%) of the existing licenses within a facility type, rounded down to the nearest whole number;
  • The applicant provides false or misleading information in an application;
  • The applicant fails to timely provide information or records requested by the department; or
  • The department determines an application fails to meet the license eligibility requirements in this chapter and Article XIV.
  • All applicants that are issued a license or certification will be given forty eight (48) hours to confirm they accept the license or certification. Failure to accept the license or certification in this time frame is cause to deny the application.
  • If an application is denied, the department will review the next application in the order drawn until the available licenses or certifications are filled.
  • Once all available licenses or certifications are filled, the remaining applications in the lottery will be denied.

In cases where fewer applications are received in an application time period than there are available licenses or certifications, all complete applications meeting the license eligibility requirements in this chapter and Article XIV will be granted unless otherwise subject to denial.

Any denial shall be issued by the department in writing to the applicant and shall include the specific reasons for the denial and the process for requesting review of the department’s decision.

How long is a MO Marijuana Facility License Valid?

A facility license or certification shall be valid for three (3) years from its date of issuance.

Conclusion of Missouri Marijuana License Application

In Missouri, marijuana facility licenses and certifications can be applied for through the Department of Health and Senior Services. All complete applications meeting the eligibility requirements in the relevant departmental chapters and articles will be granted unless otherwise subject to denial. Denials must include reasons for refusal, as well as a process for requesting review of the decision. A facility license or certification will be valid for three years from its date of issuance.

It is important that applicants take the time to properly prepare their applications to avoid delays and unnecessary hiccups in the application process. Utilizing the services of a qualified marijuana industry lawyer can ensure that all legal requirements are met prior to submission and can provide valuable advice on navigating the complete application.  Contact our offices for help on your application today.

 

 

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