ST. LOUIS — There’s been some confusion about when people are able to apply for a license to grow marijuana at home in Missouri.
The Missouri Department of Health released the sample application this weekend but has not started accepting them.
“Every person age 21 and older in the state of Missouri is authorized," MO NORML Attorney Dan Viets said, "and has a constitutional right to cultivate up to 18 plants, six mature, six that measure 14 inches but are not mature and six under 14 inches seedlings or clones."
There are also some rules on the application that home growers will need to follow. Just like you can’t sell homemade beer, you also can’t sell homegrown marijuana, Star Buds Dispensary Owner Chris Chesley said.
“Keep the cultivation in a locked area," Viets said. "It can be outside, but it needs to be in a locked area that is not visible to the general public. But people who cultivate do have the right to share with others up to three ounces, in fact, under Article 14."
Viets said about 20,000 Missourians already grow marijuana for medical purposes, and the state is expecting thousands more to grow it for recreational use.
John Payne, campaign manager of Legal MO 2022, said it now costs $50 to apply for medical growing and $100 to apply for recreational growing.
“If people are maybe not close to a dispensary or just don't want to buy from a dispensary for whatever reason, just like to do it themselves, we wanted to create that avenue for them,” Payne said.
Chesley said he thinks home growing is a great option and helps people develop a new appreciation for the plant.
He said they weighed the pros and cons of having a registration process, but in the end, registration to grow can be a good thing.
“We wanted to make sure that before police could get a warrant just for somebody growing cannabis, that they had to check that list," Chesley said. "And if somebody is on that list, then the department is going to go knock on the door and say, ‘hey, can we see your grow operation and make sure that you're doing this within regulation instead of potentially having a SWAT team come to your door."
Payne said we could see people applying for growing licenses and being able to buy recreational marijuana at a dispensary on the same day, Feb. 6.
You can find the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services timeline and sample grower application here.
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