(The Center Square) – The state of Missouri has revoked licenses for nine cannabis facilities over “ineligibility.”
The facilities are classified as microbusinesses, defined by the state as a license for small businesses designed to aide “marginalized or under-represented individuals” that want to participate in legal marijuana sales. The revocation from the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation came as a response to the state’s voter-approved regulatory program that allows for such licenses.
“While owning and operating a license may include contracting for management services or consulting services, the lack of knowledge, control, agency or decision-making demonstrated by the individuals whose information was used to meet eligibility does not meet even the most generous interpretation of owning and operating a business,” DCR Director Amy Moore said in a press release. “These circumstances do not meet the intent or meaning of the requirement in Article XIV that microbusinesses are operated by eligible individuals.”
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which oversees DCR, the microbusiness licenses are intended for “a cannabis business that will operate on a smaller scale then medical or comprehensive licenses and that the majority owner(s) must meet certain and specific qualifications to be eligible.”
DCR said one license was revoked due to an owner’s felony offense, and the other eight licenses were revoked for “numerous violations of rule including providing false or misleading information in the application and failure to demonstrate that the microbusiness licenses were majority owned and operated by eligible individuals.” Two of the microbusinesses satisfied complaince following Notices of Pending Revocation.
“DCR must continue to monitor the details of microbusiness ownership arrangements, even if they later change, to ensure these licenses remain in compliance,” the department said.
