YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
As the state starts the rollout of a microbusiness program designed to aid small and minority-owned ventures in entering the growing marijuana market, some industry players are teaming to hold free informational meetings intended to reach those considering applying for entry.
A Missouri cannabis microbusiness information tour has been scheduled in several cities, including Springfield, for later this month and early July, said Boston Dickerson, CEO of Show-Me Organics Inc.
The Springfield stop is set for June 28 at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library, 2214 S. Brentwood Blvd. Dickerson said his vertically integrated cannabis company is teaming with business advisory firm Amendment 2 Consultants LLC for the tour, which also features a June 29 visit to Kansas City, followed by Columbia on July 5 and St. Louis on July 6.
“Anybody who is interested in learning more about these microlicenses should just come by,” Dickerson said, noting a desire to provide support for microbusiness applicants as they consider entering the industry. “It’s a place for people to come and ask their questions and gain a little more in-depth understanding.”
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recently released applications on its website for marijuana microbusiness licenses. The licenses, which will be awarded via lottery, are designed to allow applicants, including minority groups and lower-income individuals, to participate in the legal marijuana market.
The new category of cannabis licenses was created by the November 2022 passage of Amendment 3, which legalized recreational marijuana in the state. The microbusinesses will add at least 144 licensed facilities to the roughly 350 licensed and certified cannabis businesses in the state. In October, DHSS will issue six microbusiness licenses in each of the state’s eight congressional districts, totaling 48 licenses. Another 48 licenses will be issued in 2024, followed by the same number in 2025.
Applicants must meet specific criteria, such as having an income below 250% of the federal poverty line or a disability card from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
They also are eligible if they reside in a ZIP code with a historic incarceration rate for marijuana-related offenses that is 50% higher than the rate for the entire state.
License needs
According to DHSS, the two types of microbusiness licenses available in the program are for a dispensary or wholesale facility.
A microbusiness dispensary is licensed to sell marijuana products, and a microbusiness wholesale facility is licensed to cultivate and manufacture marijuana products – both for medical and adult uses.
If cultivating, a microbusiness wholesaler may cultivate up to 250 flowering plants at any given time.
“This process isn’t going to be nearly as comprehensive and complex since it’s awarded by a lottery system,” Dickerson said, referring to the 2019 process when Show-Me Organics and more than 2,000 other applicants sought to first enter Missouri’s medical marijuana industry. “But they still need to check all the right boxes, have everything lined up and submitted correctly.”
The microbusiness license application period will be open July 27-Aug. 10.
“We partnered with Amendment 2 Consultants to basically help everybody get into the funnel, submit the correct application materials, find their real estate and do what they need to do to be considered for these licenses,” Dickerson said, noting the companies are donating time for the community meetings, which will include a panel discussion and question-and-answer session. “Where Show-Me Organics comes in is on the back end when the licenses are awarded. We’re going to focus on cultivation, manufacturing and retail operations to help people learn from the mistakes we made along the way.”
Industry help
Dickerson said Show-Me Organics intends to offer free marketing and sales advice to any successful microlicense applicants as they look to launch later this year.
“Most of our work will be in the post-licensing period,” he said. “We will be able to help a vast majority of those applicants.”
The formerly Springfield-based, majority family-owned company relocated its headquarters to Kansas City last year after purchasing an 80,000-square-foot cannabis growing and manufacturing facility from Holistic Industries for undisclosed terms, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Its laboratory and infused product manufacturing facility remains in Springfield, where it produces Buoyant Bob, Missouri’s Own Edibles and Vivid brand products. The company also owns two dispensaries under the brand Blue Sage Cannabis Co., operating in Carthage and Lebanon.
While Show-Me Organics isn’t making any financial investments for the meetings or providing monetary support for applicants, Dickerson said St. Louis-based Amendment 2 Consultants is willing to offer application assistance for a fee. The firm is charging $5,500 to write and submit a microlicense application, according to its website. The total includes the $1,500 application fee charged by the state.
For any applicant not chosen in the lottery, a refund of the $1,500 fee would be issued by the state to those that meet the criteria for a microbusiness license and have no pending or future legal actions related to the application denial.
Moseley’s Discount Office Products was purchased; Side Chick opened in Branson; and the Springfield franchise store of NoBaked Cookie Dough changed ownership.
