Operators of Missouri cannabis businesses can now share their ideas in a new way with the creation of the Missouri Cannabis Regulation Collaborative, which was announced Tuesday.
The collaborative seeks to foster discussion among individuals across the state with different levels of experience in the cannabis industry, regardless of the size or type of business. Applicants who wish to apply must hold ownership or leadership positions within licensed cannabis businesses.
Topics that may be discussed in the collaborative include the potential federal rescheduling of marijuana as a less risky drug, Farm Bill revisions and other subjects related to the cannabis market in Missouri.
The effort emerged following feedback from licensees who sought more opportunities to share ideas with regulators and provide input on the cannabis industry in the state.
“We decided to have this collaborative to really give an opportunity for licensees and regulators to come together so that we can strengthen our relationships, collaborate, problem solve, and just share information and knowledge in pursuit of our mutual goals to have a successful cannabis program,” said Tara McKinney, public outreach director with the Division of Cannabis Regulation.
Staff from the Division of Cannabis Regulation and the Department of Health and Senior Services will review applications and select participants. The collaborative will have a maximum of 30 members.
Members will fill two-year terms, attend no more than two in-person workshops in Jefferson City, attend six virtual meetings per year and participate in other work between meetings as needed.
McKinney said that there isn’t yet a specific timeline for the process of forming the collaborative, but she said that she hopes that it would have its first meeting in late summer.
The application period opened Tuesday and will run until June 18. The Division of Cannabis Regulation has shared additional information on the program and the application form online.
This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.