The Kansas City metro area, and a couple of cities just outside of it, will soon have 45 medical marijuana dispensaries.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued dispensary licenses Thursday, marking a major milepost since voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2018 that legalized medical marijuana.
Since then, more than 30,000 Missourians saw their applications approved to buy pot to treat conditions like epilepsy or Parkinson’s, or for doctor-approved ailments. Dispensaries will likely open this summer, Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman Lisa Cox said; the state won’t start inspections on the facilities until mid-March.
Competition for a license was fierce: Missouri received more than 1,000 dispensary applications but approved only 192.
Each of Missouri’s eight congressional districts get 24 dispensaries. Applications were evaluated under a blind system that rated the proposed facilities based on things like business experience, capacity to operate a medical marijuana business, diversity efforts and security.
The state has already awarded licenses for medical pot cultivation, testing and transportation. Some people who didn’t get those licenses have sued the state or plan to sue, alleging inconsistencies in the ranking process.
The full list of dispensaries within an hour of Kansas City are:
Dispensaries within an hour of Kansas City
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Aviva Okeson-Haberman is the Missouri government and politics reporter at KCUR 89.3. Follow her on Twitter: @avivaokeson.
Alex Smith is a health reporter for KCUR. You can reach him by email at alexs@kcur.org.
