Missouri Officials Certify Less Than Half of Cannabis Social Equity Licenses

Just seven of Missouri’s 24 social equity cannabis dispensary applicants had their licenses approved by officials. The other 17 dispensary license winners were found ineligible by the Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) for “failure to provide adequate documentation” that the licensee met the criteria, according to the agency’s October 10 report.  

Another 15 of the 33 wholesale licenses needed to create cannabis cultivation facilities were also deemed ineligible. In all, less than half – 25 of the 57 licenses – were certified by the agency. 

Licenses that were unable to be certified are subject to revocation, the report states, but those subject to revocation will have 30 days to respond to the denial. If the licenses are revoked, they will be added to the pool of licenses available in the next round.  

The 24 dispensary licenses were first awarded last June through a lottery process; however, a review by the Missouri Independent found 14 of those licensees are likely linked to Missouri investors and out-of-state groups accused of using individuals that meet the social equity requirements as fronts to obtain the licenses. State regulators have cracked down on that scheme, which often involves flooding the lottery application process to gain an advantage.   

According to the DCR, the denied licensees had “Issues in relation to … failure to provide adequate documentation to verify the majority owner met the eligibility criteria chosen at application, a disqualifying felony offense, and/or failure to provide documentation that the facility would be operated by eligible individuals as required” under state law.