Missouri Residents Can Soon Grow Cannabis at Home with DHSS Application Approval

By: Buz Deliere | January 9, 2023

Missourians now have the exciting opportunity to cultivate their cannabis at home with regulatory approval. Sample applications are available for adults who want to take advantage of this new chance.

On Saturday, the Department of Health and Senior Services(DHSS) published forms to give citizens ample opportunity to prepare all necessary information before regulators begin officially accepting and analyzing applications at the start of next month.

Missouri recently legalized cannabis in the state with a voter-approved marijuana law that requires adults 21 and up to apply for permission in order if they wish to cultivate their cannabis plants.

Residents of Missouri are now able to take advantage of new laws allowing them to cultivate six mature and six immature, plus an additional six clones in their homes. Households with multiple adults are restricted to only twelve flowering plants at one time.

DHSS’s Division of Cannabis Regulation is gearing up to begin accepting applications, providing an exciting opportunity for those wanting to cultivate cannabis at home starting February 6.

Hopeful growers can get a glimpse of what's to come, as the current form serves up an appetizer into the application process for consumer personal cultivation authorization. How and when applications will be accepted and what fees will come with it will be posted on the department's website. It will be the go-to hub for individuals looking to apply and pay fees before February 6th, when applications are due.

Each year, individuals must apply to renew their personal consumption approvals for a fee of $100. Residents are hopeful the fees associated with cultivation at home will be fair as well.

Two months after regulators unveiled draft regulations for the adult-use market, sample applications are now available. This has opened the door to a wealth of public comments and discussions about shaping this new industry.

DHSS, with their newfound authority to regulate the cannabis program in Missouri and issue out licenses, began laying down the groundwork for rules in August when legalization was first announced. This momentous decision has allowed the state to carefully move forward on a groundbreaking journey toward ending marijuana prohibition.

In December, Missouri began the exciting process of allowing existing medical cannabis dispensaries to start applying to be able to serve adult-use customers. With anticipation for recreational licenses quickly building, regulators are expected to begin approving applications as early as next month.

Last session, Missouri lawmakers strived to legalize marijuana; however, a reform bill presented by Rep. Ron Hicks (R) ahead of the election was unable to progress despite being revitalized for the special session.

The rapid response to a legal challenge of an activist-led initiative that secured its placement on the ballot took Missouri by surprise, as legislation was quickly filed just one day after the Supreme Court gave its final ruling.

After being introduced last year, Representative Hicks's legislation was given a new life during this legislative session with one big revision. The addition of an emergency clause that referenced the ballot initiative made it so state citizens wouldn't have to wait for its effects - upon passage it would quickly become law.