Competition heated for Missouri medical cannabis dispensary licenses

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The race among medical cannabis business applicants in Missouri for growers and dispensary licenses is fierce, state figures show.

The data shows that more than half the 2,100-plus medical cannabis business applicants are seeking dispensary licenses.

Here are the applicant counts by category, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services:

  • Dispensaries: 1,163 applications for 192 licenses.
  • Cultivation facilities: 554 applications for 60 licenses.
  • Processing facilities: 415 applications for 86 licenses.
  • Testing laboratories: 17 applications for 10 licenses.

State regulators also report they accepted 109 applications after the Aug. 24 deadline from applicants who had experienced technical difficulties in submitting the form.

Another 20 requests for waivers were denied.

A third-party evaluator soon will begin reviewing and scoring the applications.

Additional information about the applications received, such as applicant identities and facility locations, will be released in the coming weeks, state officials said.

Regulators must approve or deny an application within 150 days of the submission date.

Marijuana Business Daily projects that the Missouri MMJ program could generate $175 million-$275 million in annual sales within several years of the launch.

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