Missouri’s Medical Marijuana Program Shows Tremendous Growth in First Year |

Just under a year after the state made its first medical marijuana sale, Missouri’s medical marijuana program has grown to more than 140 pharmacies.

According to local television station FOX 2 NOW, “the state’s medical cannabis industry employs around 5,000 people” and sales have been strong.

“The sales are pleasantly surprising,” Lyndall Fraker, director of the medical marijuana division at the Missouri Department of Health, told the television station. “At the end of July, we exceeded $ 91 million in sales.”

In 2018, voters in Missouri voted for a constitutional amendment to legalize medical cannabis with more than 65 percent support. Proponents of the change urged the Show Me State to open at least 192 pharmacies, a threshold that Fraker Missouri says is likely to hit.

“The amendment that was voted on says that we should open at least the minimum number of 192 pharmacies,” said Fraker, as quoted by FOX 2 NOW. “To date we have 142 open. We have done the math and based on the number of quantities each patient can buy each month, how much product would be required to serve the patient base and we believe we will be good for five or six years. “

Last October, Missouri’s first pharmacies opened their doors to long lines. With the success of the medical marijuana program, Missoura residents could be encouraged to take the next step and embrace legalizing cannabis use as a recreational activity.

Earlier this year, a Missouri Republican legislature said it was time for the state to go in that direction.

“We spend more time and resources on law enforcement prosecuting marijuana smokers than any other drug combined,” said Shamed Dogan, representative of the GOP House of Representatives.

“I think the alcohol ban taught us that trying to ban something this way backfires,” added Dogan. “I mean, you can buy any amount of alcohol you want, right? You can buy any amount of tobacco you want, so I think that should be handled the same way. “

Dogan and his colleagues were unable to pass a legalization measure at that meeting, but supporters in Missouri continued to press. In July, a group called Fair Access Missouri petitioned the Missouri Secretary of State to legalize recreational marijuana, among other things.

“Today’s filing is the next step in this battle,” the group said in a statement. “We have seen across the country that smart rules and an open market are the way to go when it comes to legalizing cannabis, and we will bring that to Missouri.”

In addition to recreational use of cannabis, the group also aims to “allow state-licensed doctors to recommend marijuana for medical purposes to patients with serious illnesses and ailments”.

According to local TV station KSHB, the group’s petition, filed on July 12, “is still going through the initiative petition process, which could take approximately 65 days”.

The broadcaster said Fair Access Missouri “has not yet decided whether it will try to collect signatures to receive the output in an upcoming vote.”

However, some local leaders in Missouri haven’t waited for statewide cannabis reform. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas helped successfully pass an ordinance decriminalizing the possession and control of marijuana in the city.

“One way to improve police-community relations is to get rid of laws that have led for too long to negative interactions, arrests, convictions, and disproportionate incarceration rates for black men and black women,” Lucas said at the time. “By reducing minor offenses – such as community marijuana offenses – these negative interactions are reduced every day.”