As the state and the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) continue to try to sort out the mess that is the microbusiness license program in Missouri, license holders have remained in the dark.
Business partners and lifelong friends Kelyn Conner and Dillon Mapes won in the second lottery of the microbusiness program back in June 2024. The two qualify for the license based on nonviolent marijuana felony charges that they received together. After the license was issued in July, they had to undergo the minimum standards review to make sure that everything was up to compliance with the state.
They say that they passed the minimum standards review in October, but shortly after, the DCR gave them notice that they were in violation of compliance due to a convertible note, which would transfer partial equity of the business to Conner, since Mapes is the designated contact and license holder. Their reason for having this convertible note in their license agreement was to ensure that both parties received their deserved stake in the business.
"Their big hang-up is, if you did transfer equity, it would need to be someone that is eligible," Mapes says.
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