Missouri Legislature Plans Disclosure of Medical Cannabis Records |

Members of the Missouri House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a measure to “open a treasure trove of classified state records detailing ownership structures [the state’s] medical marijuana companies,” according to a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The proposal was included as an amendment to a larger bill “by a bipartisan vote of 128 to 6,” the newspaper reported. Now it goes to the Senate.

The move was motivated by lawmakers’ frustration with a lack of transparency regarding the state’s licensed medical cannabis businesses.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the “sponsor of the change, Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, said the Department of Health and Elderly Services has rejected efforts by the House Special Committee on Government Oversight to obtain the ownership records,” effectively meaning “legislators have no way of knowing if companies have received more licenses than they did after.” the 2018 Constitution allows amendments legalizing medical marijuana.”

“We need legal language to make it clear that they must provide us with this information,” Merideth told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Nearly 70% of Show Me State voters approved the change legalizing medical cannabis treatment in 2018, but the launch of the program was plagued by a series of delays in the years that followed.

The sale officially began in 2020 after officials were hampered by COVID-related delays and a lack of testing sites for the cannabis.

Almost two years later, the state’s medicinal cannabis program has gone gangbuster. The News Tribune reported that “since the state’s first pharmacy opened in October 2020, revenue for the program has reached nearly $336 million” and that it generated “a record $36.7 million in sales in April.” Has.

A total of “335 facilities have given the go-ahead, involving more than 185,000 patients and caregivers,” the report said.

Under the state’s constitutional amendment, patients with the following conditions may qualify for medical cannabis treatment: cancer; Epilepsy; Glaucoma; Intractable migraines unresponsive to other treatments; A chronic condition causing severe, persistent pain or muscle spasms, including but not limited to those associated with multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinson’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome; debilitating psychiatric disorders, including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, when diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist; human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; A chronic condition usually treated with prescription drugs that could lead to physical or psychological dependence if a doctor determines that medical use of cannabis could be effective in treating this condition and would serve as a safer alternative to the prescription drugs ; or an incurable disease, among several others.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Merideth’s proposal “also said that the records would be used to determine whether the state was “appropriately” using its powers to grant or deny licenses; whether the program has unreasonably restricted patient access; whether the license assessment provisions conform to the constitutional model; and whether the state needs to lift licensing restrictions.”

The newspaper said that officials in Missouri “have expressed concern about similar efforts over the past year to open the records, arguing that the constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana prevented their release,” but Merideth argues that “as government officials House legislators should have access to the information so long as they do not release it to the public.”

“We’re a separate branch of government that should be able to conduct our own investigations as long as we don’t release that information,” Merideth said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s different than doing an open record.”

“I’m not suggesting it should be an open record,” he continued, “that their competitors should have access to it.”