Personal marijuana cultivation applications available Saturday, January 7

Article XIV, “Amendment 3,” allows every person in Missouri over the age of 21 to apply for a $100 license to cultivate marijuana subject to certain requirements, including that the cultivation be in a locked, secured area, and that the plants not be visible to the public. Other reforms incorporated in Article XIV allow dispensaries to sell seeds, seedlings, and clones.

All Missouri citizens over the age of 21 will be able to obtain the forms and the information needed to apply for a license to cultivate up to 18 cannabis plants beginning this Saturday, January 7, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (cannabis.mo.gov).

Article XIV co-author and Missouri NORML Coordinator, attorney Dan Viets of Columbia, said, “This is a very important part of the new marijuana law passed by Missouri voters. The option to cultivate cannabis for one’s own use provides an alternative for those who choose not to patronize commercial marijuana dispensaries. Personal cultivation is a far less expensive way to obtain cannabis and, for many, provides a greater degree of personal satisfaction.”

The fact that those in the medical marijuana industry were willing to provide financial support for a measure which provides an alternative to patronizing those establishments demonstrates the good faith of the industry and the fallacy of those who claim that Article XIV creates a “monopoly”. Later this year, the state of Missouri will begin to issue dozens of so-called “micro licenses” to those who meet eligibility requirements which include having a low income, having relatively little property, or living in an unaccredited school district, or having been arrested or having a close family member who has been arrested, for marijuana. Once again, the industry supported this provision, recognizing that it would result in increased competition.