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Missouri medical marijuana program releases proposed rules for facilities

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has released its second set of draft rules for the state’s first medical marijuana program.

The latest set of DHSS rules address dispensaries and other medical marijuana facilities.

The new draft covers “cultivation facilities, dispensary facilities, infused products manufacturing facilities and medical marijuana establishments in general.” Read draft rules.

The rules, for instance, set limits on how many facilities can be owned by one entity, separate testing facilities from dispensaries, regulate waste and byproduct disposal and set distances between facilities and schools, daycares and churches.

The DHSS Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation released rules for qualified patients and primary caregivers in February. The agency held public forums in Jefferson City, Poplar Bluff, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield in January and February to hear more about the needs of patients and caregivers.

Lyndall Fraker, Director of the DHSS Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation, says, “All feedback we received was considered, and is still being considered, as we continue drafting the rules.”

Public feedback can still be submitted on feedback on these drafts using the online suggestion form.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Missouri medical cannabis trade association (MoCannTrade), praises DHSS for taking the time to hear from citizens and stakeholders before creating rules.

“It’s a steep hill. [The Missouri Constitution] lays some fairly aggressive timeline to get applications out to patients, applications out to those who want to be involved in cultivation and dispensary and they have done a nice job,” Cardetti told Missourinet.

The June 4 deadline to have the program plan in place was created in an amendment to the Missouri Constitution approved by voters this past November. But the process of creating such a program is new to the state.

Lisa Cox, DHSS spokesperson, calls the effort “monumental.”

Remaining rules include sales, transportation, physicians and healthcare providers, and taxation.

Kansas City state representative arrested on marijuana charges

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Some Missouri Democrats say Rep. Jeremy LaFaver (D-Kansas City) might lose his seat in the state legislator if charges of marijuana possession stick.

LeFaverThe Highway Patrol reports LaFaver was stopped in Boone County for failing to show up for traffic court in Moniteau County on charges of driving with expired plates and driving without insurance. During the stop, troopers found a marijuana pipe and a small quantity of marijuana.

LaFaver has issued the following statement:

“I made a serious mistake, I apologize for it, and I am prepared to face the consequences of my behavior,” he says. “I want to stress that I was not operating under the influence.”

“I deeply regret the embarrassment I have caused my family and the people of the 25th District by this incident,” he says. “I want to assure my constituents that I have received no special considerations, nor do I expect to be treated any differently than any other citizen in my situation.”

LaFaver was unsuccessful in passing a bill he sponsored this year that would have lowered penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2012.