When will marijuana be legal in Missouri? Rules and dates to know after Amendment 3 passed

Greta Cross, Springfield News-Leader
·8 min read
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Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 on Tuesday, which legalizes recreational, adult-use marijuana and expunges some non-violent marijuana-related offenses.

The amendment will:

  • Remove state prohibitions on purchasing, possessing, consuming, using, delivering, manufacturing and selling marijuana for personal use for adults over 21;

  • Require a registration card for personal cultivation with prescribed limits;

  • Allow persons with certain marijuana-related non-violent offenses to petition for release from incarceration or parole and probation and have records cleared;

  • Establish a lottery selection process to award licenses and certificates;

  • Issue equally distributed licenses to each congressional district;

  • Impose a 6% tax on the retail price of marijuana to benefit various programs.

Amendment 3 will be added to the Missouri Constitution on Dec. 8, but it will take longer before folks are able to purchase recreational marijuana as appropriate business licenses are administered through the state.

When will recreational marijuana be available to purchase in Missouri?

The earliest Missourians who are 21 years and older will be able to purchase recreational marijuana is February 2023.

Already established medical marijuana facilities may apply for a comprehensive license, which allows them to sell recreational marijuana. The Department of Health and Senior Services must begin awarding comprehensive licenses to medical marijuana facilities by Feb. 6, according to Amendment 3.

Once available, an individual can purchase, possess, consume, use, ingest, inhale, process, transport or deliver up to three ounces of dried, unprocessed marijuana.

More:Under Amendment 3, can Missourians get fired for using recreational marijuana?

Where can recreational marijuana be consumed?

Under Amendment 3, recreational marijuana is allowed anywhere smoking tobacco is. However, it is still illegal to smoke while driving or operating a motor vehicle, including trains, aircrafts and boats.

In addition, marijuana cannot be consumed or possessed on the grounds of any public or private schools (pre-k through higher education) or correctional facility.

The penalty for smoking in a prohibited area is a civil penalty and a fine of no more than $100.

When will recreational marijuana dispensaries open in Missouri?

Amendment 3 requires that the Department of Health and Senior Services license at least two dispensaries in each of the state's eight congressional districts to start. These dispensaries will begin receiving licenses to sell recreational marijuana starting Sept. 4, 2023.

When can individuals begin personal cultivation and how much is allowed?

The Department of Health and Senior Services will have public application instructions and forms available for personal cultivation registration cards by Jan. 7, 2023. Within the following 30 days, the department shall begin accepting these applications.

Applicants must pay an initial $100 application fee. If granted, cards are valid for one year and renewable.

Missourians 21 years and older may obtain a registration card to cultivate up to six flowering marijuana plants, six non-flowering marijuana plants and six clones (plants under 14 inches tall) for non-commercial use.

If an individual produces more than the legal three ounces of dried, unprocessed marijuana, it should be kept at a private residence in a locked space.

What will the 6% marijuana sales tax go to?

The 6% tax for recreational marijuana will be collected and distributed to a number of organizations in the state through the "Veterans, Health and Community Reinvestment Fund."

First, an amount determined appropriate will be distributed to the Department of Health and Senior Services to regulate the programming established under Amendment 3.

Second, an amount determined appropriate will be distributed to government entities carrying out responsibilities in the expungement of criminal records.

The remaining funds will be distributed in thirds to:

  • the Missouri veterans commission and allied state agencies, exclusively for health care for military veterans and their families,

  • agencies and nonprofits to increase access to drug addiction treatment through grants and

  • the Missouri public defender system.

It's worth noting that local governments can additionally tax the sale of recreational marijuana up to 3%.

How will the Missouri medical marijuana industry be impacted?

The first half of Amendment 3 addresses the state's medical marijuana industry and there are two notable outcomes.

First, nurse practitioners and primary care physicians now can recommend medical marijuana. Previously, the Department of Health and Senior Services had to certify patients.

And second, medical facilities will have the first opportunity to produce and/or sell recreational marijuana.

Any medical marijuana cultivation facility, medical marijuana dispensary facility or marijuana-infused products manufacturing facility holding an active license can convert their licenses to a comprehensive marijuana license. This means the facility could produce and/or sell both medical and recreational marijuana.

What are microbusiness licenses and how do they work?

Marijuana microbusiness licenses are different than comprehensive and medical marijuana licenses.

To qualify for a microbusiness facility license, an applicant must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Have a net worth of less than $250,000 and have an income below 250% of the federal poverty level; or

  • Have a valid service-connected disability card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; or

  • Be a person who has been or a person whose parent/guardian/spouse has been arrested, prosecuted or convicted for a non-violent marijuana offense; or

  • Reside in a ZIP code where 30% or more of the population lives below federal poverty level, the rate of unemployment is 50% or higher than the state average, or the historic rate of incarceration for marijuana-related offenses is 50% higher than the rate for the entire state; or

  • Graduated from a school district that was unaccredited

By June 2023, the Department of Health and Senior Services will make license application instructions and forms for marijuana microbusiness facilities available to the public. The department will begin accepting these applications by early Sept. 2023.

Applicants must pay an initial $1,500 application fee. If granted, licenses are valid for three years and renewable for $1,500.

By Oct. 2023, the Department of Health and Senior Services must issue six marijuana microbusiness facilities licenses per the state's eight congressional districts. At least two must be dispensary facilities and four must be wholesale facilities.

According to Amendment 3, six more licenses will be added per congressional district 270 days after the department issues initial licenses. And another six will be added 548 days after initial issuing.

There are two types of marijuana microbusiness facilities:

  • Wholesale facility: Work internally and may cultivate, process, manufacture, transport and sell marijuana products to any other microbusiness facility

  • Dispensary facility: Work both internally and with the public and may process, package, deliver and sell marijuana products to other microbusiness facilities or directly to patients and consumers.

Marijuana microbusiness owners will have the ability to apply for licenses of other marijuana or medical marijuana facilities in the future.

More:In close race, recreational marijuana legalization appears to have won in Missouri

'Automatic' expungements of marijuana-related offenses

Individuals with certain non-violent marijuana-related offenses will have their records automatically expunged, or cleared.

Expungement of records is not automatic for everyone, though.

According to Amendment 3, the state's circuit courts will expunge the criminal records of individuals with misdemeanor marijuana offenses who are no longer incarcerated or under the supervision of the department of corrections by July 2023.

Within the first year of Amendment 3 being effective, the criminal records of individuals who are no longer incarcerated or under supervision by the department of corrections but have completed their sentence for any felony marijuana offenses will be cleared.

For all class A, class B, class C, class D and felony offenses for possession of more than three pounds of marijuana, the circuit courts will expunge criminal records after individuals have completed their incarceration, including supervised probation or parole.

"The person whose record is expunged shall be treated in all respects as if he or she had never been arrested, convicted or sentenced for the offense," Amendment 3 states. "Such person shall not be required to acknowledge the existence of such a criminal history."

Non-violent offenses include drug possession, gambling or disturbing peace. Violent crimes are those that include bodily harm, including murder, domestic assault, some types of robbery and armed criminal acts.

Who will be released from incarceration and when?

There are three types of instances where incarcerated individuals can petition for release:

  • Any person who would not have been guilty of an adult or juvenile offense if the law was in effect at the time of the offense.

  • Any person who would have been guilty for a lesser adult or juvenile offense if the law was in effect at the time of the offense.

  • Any person who is serving a marijuana offense that is a misdemeanor, class E felony or class D felony involving possession of three pounds or less of marijuana (excluding offenses involving distribution/delivery to a minor, violence or operation of a vehicle while under the influence).

Release dates are dependent on the severity of one's offense. Amendment 3 organizes them in the following order:

  • By March 2023, sentencing courts will have completed the adjudications of all cases involving only misdemeanor marijuana offenses.

  • By June 2023, sentencing courts will have completed the adjudications of all cases involving class E felony, or successor designation, marijuana offenses.

  • By Sept. 2023, sentencing courts will have completed the adjudications of all cases involving class D felony, or successor designation, marijuana offenses.

What happens if recreational marijuana becomes legal federally?

If recreational marijuana becomes legal at the federal level, Amendment 3 will remain in place in the state of Missouri, unless the federal law states otherwise.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: When Missouri marijuana dispensaries can open and other rules to know