Missouri's social-equity cannabis program has struggled to get off the ground since it began in 2023, with state regulators routinely revoking business licenses for relying on contracts they've publicly characterized as "predatory."
As it turns out, the attorney who crafted most of those contracts also represents the marijuana industry trade group, whose leaders helped create the microbusiness license program to diversify the market and ensure its benefits went to communities most impacted by the war on drugs.
Eric Walter is a St. Louis-based attorney who represents the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association and a significant percentage of the state's cannabis licensees. He wrote 22 agreements the state believes would take the microbusiness licenses out of the hands of eligible applicants and put them into the hands of well-connected or out-of-state cannabis investors, according to the administrative appeal case documents obtained by The Independent.
Each of those agreements largely led to the state revoking a microbusiness license issued last year for not meeting the constitutional mandate that the licenses be "majority owned and operated" by eligible applicants. All but one of the license revocations is being appealed to the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission. To be eligible for a microbusiness license, applicants must meet certain criteria, including income below certain thresholds, having past marijuana offenses or being a disabled veteran.
Read more at Missouri Independent
