A federal judge last week permanently blocked Missouri from enforcing a requirement that medical cannabis licenses go to businesses owned by residents of the state.
Following a bench trial Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey agreed to grant a permanent injunction. Her written order has not yet been filed. News of the injunction was first reported by the cannabis newsletter GrownIn.
Laughrey granted a temporary injunction against the requirement in June in response to a 2020 lawsuit filed by Mark Toigo, a cannabis investor from Pennsylvania and minority owner in a Missouri business awarded several licenses.
A constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 that legalized medical cannabis requires facilities to be “majority-owned by natural persons who have been citizens of the state of Missouri for at least one year prior to the application.”
Toigo argues in his lawsuit that Missouri’s medical cannabis market is expected to reach retail sales of $175 million to $275 million a year, but because of the residency rules, he is prohibited from investing more money into any Missouri company if it increases his ownership stakes above 49%.
Read more at marijuanamoment.net