The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will accept the second round of microbusiness license applications electronically, through the online registry portal from April 15 – 29. Issuance of licenses is expected to occur in July of this year.
On Oct. 4, 2023, the Department issued 48 microbusiness facility licenses, completing the first of three rounds for awarding microbusiness licenses as required in Section 2 of Article XIV. Microbusinesses are marijuana facility licenses that are only issued to eligible entities and individuals and are designed to allow marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the legal marijuana market.
Ahead of the application acceptance timeframe, the Department advises microbusiness applicants of the following:
- Per Article XIV section 2.4(12) an entity, which includes individuals, may apply to the Department for and obtain only one license to operate a marijuana microbusiness facility, which may be either a microbusiness dispensary facility or a microbusiness wholesale facility.
- A microbusiness applicant may not have an owner who is also an owner of an existing medical, comprehensive, or another microbusiness marijuana facility license or certification. This limitation ensures everyone who applies has an equal chance at obtaining a microbusiness facility license.
- Pursuant to Article XIV, winners of microbusiness licenses are to be selected via a random lottery drawing. To ensure the integrity of the applicant selection process, the Missouri Lottery will conduct the drawing without reference to the identities of the applicants.
- After the application submission window closes, qualifying applicants will be sorted by congressional district and license type (wholesale or dispensary); then, assigned a sequential applicant identifier will be assigned within those groups. Each group will be considered its own lottery set, for a total of 16 lottery drawings.
- All timely applications submitted with the application fee will be entered into the lottery drawing. Untimely applications, or those submitted without an application fee, will be denied and will not go to the lottery.
- Applications submitted into the lottery drawing will be listed in the order drawn within each congressional district. All applicants will receive an email notice prior to being sent to the lottery with their applicant identifier.
- The lottery will take place in June 2024. The lottery drawing results will be posted on the Department’s website as soon as they are available.
Those needing assistance with eligibility requirements or application forms can contact Facility Application Services at [email protected]
The Department is committed to providing enhanced communications and educational opportunities ahead of the second round of microbusiness licenses. For information on microbusiness outreach events, applicant eligibility requirements, and instructions on how to apply or how to subscribe to email updates, visit this link.
