This past Friday the Kansas City Business Journal released a list of all of the marijuana dispensaries that were approved licenses to be able to dispense medically prescribed marijuana. There were three submissions for licenses in Excelsior Springs, but only one license was granted, to Kansas City Cannabis Co. in the old Brown’s Pharmacy location on Crown Hill Road. The Kansas City Star released a list of all the marijuana dispensaries that were denied licenses.
So what does this mean? Below is a look at the Amendment and also local preparations, as Missouri takes its first step toward dispensing the drug.
What is Amendment 2?
Missouri citizens voted overwhelmingly to pass Amendment 2 in November of 2018. There were a total of 2,413,858 total votes and over 65% of them voted in favor of the amendment. The title was as follow:
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
• allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and create regulations and licensing/certification procedures for marijuana and marijuana facilities;
• impose a 4 percent tax on the retail sale of marijuana; and
• use funds from these taxes for health and care services for military veterans by the Missouri Veterans Commission and to administer the program to license/certify and regulate marijuana and marijuana facilities?
This proposal is estimated to generate annual taxes and fees of $18 million for state operating costs and veterans programs, and $6 million for local governments. Annual State operating costs are estimated to be $7 million. Click here to find this information, as well as a summary of the ballot, constitutional changes, supporters and arguments of the campaign.Â
What does Amendment 2 mean for Excelsior Springs?
The City of Excelsior Springs Economic Development Director Melinda Mehaffy wrote a great blog article on Amendment 2 and the work that it requires. Hate to break it to those who don’t realize that this doesn’t mean that everyone will have access to purchase marijuana legally.
“The City is not a participant in selecting approved businesses or entities. This work is done at the state level through their application process. What cities are responsible for is overseeing where these facilities may be located. The state has offered some general guidelines and with the adoption of zoning codes, each community may further state what is allowed. The Department of Health and Senior Services has chosen to limit the number of dispensaries in the state to 192; 24 per United States congressional district. Our district includes more than 30 counties in the northern part of the state. DHSS has limited the cultivation facilities to 60; infused product manufacturing to 86 facilities and will allow 10 testing facilities throughout the state.”
Click here to read the blog article in its entirety.
How is Excelsior Springs Preparing for Dispensaries?
Excelsior Springs has been preparing for implementing Amendment 2 ever since the measure passed. Local communities have been working together to write new policy and decide on things like how long dispensaries remain open, if they will allow a drive through, and how emergency workers, police and fire departments, will handle any situations that may arise.
Click here to see the City of Excelsior Springs ordinance as it pertains to marijuana dispensaries.
For more information on the policies and codes that Excelsior Springs has put in place, click here.
Local Concerns Arise
Managing Editor of the Excelsior Springs Standard Kimberly Blackburn did a great job of documenting the concerns that have arisen from the process of discussion of regulations. Throughout the process the City heard from the Manager of Dispensary Operations for Kansas City Cannabis Company, Forest Palmer. He said that their company chose Excelsior due to the proximity to other locations. Palmer’s company was the only one to be granted a license to dispense.
Other Information Regarding this Topic
Another part of the Amendment 2 process was for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to issue licenses for cultivation of marijuana. There weren’t any cultivation licenses given for the Excelsior Springs location. However, there were eight locations in the KC area that were chosen. Cultivation will be allowed in Kansas City, Smithville, Independence, and Grain Valley.
Click here to read more about the cultivation of marijuana in the area.
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