Potential and hopeful medical marijuana business owners in Missouri who have invested thousands of dollars before they know if their applications for licenses or certifications have been accepted will now be closely watching their emails.
A draft rule the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is proposing would require people wishing to operate medical marijuana cultivation, dispensary, manufacturing or testing facilities to respond within 48 hours to notification their applications have been accepted, according to a DHSS news release.
If the applicant for the license or certification does not confirm acceptance within the time frame under the proposed rule, the license will be offered to the next ranked facility, according to the release.
The DHSS has scored applications based on principal applicants' character, letters of recommendation, previous business experience, alignment with the communities they represent, tax history, previous history with licensed businesses and criminal history.
Applicants have invested $4,208,000 in non-refundable fees for the privilege of applying for the licenses.
People wishing to operate a medical marijuana cultivation facility - that farms, stores, transports or sells medical marijuana - paid $10,000 for each application. Annual fees for the facilities are $25,000.
People wishing to operate medical marijuana dispensaries paid $6,000 for each application. Annual fees are $10,000.
People wishing to manufacture marijuana-infused products paid $6,000 for each application.
DHSS is seeking public input on the draft emergency rule.
The rule may be found at health.mo.gov/safety/medical-marijuana/pdf/19CSR-30-95.028.pdf.
To provide input, email comments or suggestions to [email protected] by Wednesday.