John Schroyer
Missouri cannabis regulators on Monday announced 48 winners of coveted marijuana microbusiness licenses, whose names were pulled in a lottery last Thursday.
There were six permits apportioned to each of the state’s eight congressional districts, with varying numbers of applicants in each, according to a statement from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Of the six in each district, only two were dispensary microbusinesses, while the other four were wholesale facilities.
License winners, according to an Oct. 2 notice from the department, must respond to an emailed notice regarding their permits within 48 hours “or the license will be subject to deactivation,” the agency stated.
In the First Congressional District, which includes St. Louis, there were 122 applicants for the retail microbusiness license. The two winners were:
- Ever Eco LLC
- N&M&R Enterprise LLC.
There were 21 applicants for the wholesale permits in CD-1, with the four licenses awarded to:
- Bahiya Blooms LLC
- Revive Roots LLC
- Deer Owl Family Farms Inc.
- Byepolar Thymez LLC.
In CD-5, which includes Kansas City, the retail winners were:
- Potluck THC LLC
- Independence Dispensary LLC
CD-5 wholesale winners were:
- Higher Love KC LLC
- Tango Hotel Charlie
- Vine Street Collective LLC
- MO-F11 LLC
The process for awarding the microbusiness licenses had come under fire earlier this summer, with critics saying it failed to consider much of the impact the War on Drugs had on disadvantaged communities. In particular, critics questioned the data used to determine the affected ZIP codes, which relied only on information from the last 20 years.
The program was also challenged in August, when newly elected Missouri state auditor, Scott Fitzpatrick, launched a formal investigation into how the state oversees its medical and recreational marijuana industries, fulfilling a campaign pledge he made last year in his run for the office.
