With over 400 medical cannabis pre-license applications/fees delivered so far, the Show-Me State can officially consider itself shown. MJ Biz Daily reports that Missouri’s pre-application window has been a booming success, with the state netting over $3 million in pre-license fees and, again 418 applications across retail, cultivation, and processor (rendering) categories.
Missouri, who we have mentioned as a state ripe for entrepreneurship since passage of Amendment 2 last November, has implemented a creative pre-licensing fee of between $6,000-10,000 for the right to ensure your business can apply for an actual license, with actual license apps being due on June 4, 2019. It’s an interesting tack from Show-Me but the rationale is sound and lays clear the state’s expectations for costs within the cannabis industry. Say what you want about this pre-emptive and upfront cost –a cover to get into that one hot nightclub, if you will– but also acknowledge that anyone considering a jump into the plant-touching industry without firm financing and deep pockets is not paying attention to the concrete economic costs of this industry.
While the steep cost of the pre-application fee and form is sure to cause some would-be cannapreneurs to balk, the opportunity for those who pony up is self-evident. Once taken online Missouri’s medical cannabis industry will have:
- A minimum of 192 dispensaries across the state
- Approximately 60 cultivation sites
- An estimated 85 rendering facilities
To say nothing of the potential for testing lab facilities, security operations, accounting, or other ancillary plant-touching businesses.
While the promise is tantalizing, the question of pre-licensing fees and social equity applicants remains. As we’ve seen in states such as California and Massachusetts, social equity can be an excruciating exercise for applicants and lawmakers. With the application deadline in June, the state and applicants have a little time left to consider options.
Have questions about pre-application forms or license applications in Missouri? Get in touch!