It's been more than five years since cannabis became legal in Missouri. Since that first purchase, the number of registered patients has swelled to more than 120,000, and total profits from the state's marijuana industry — an amount buoyed by legalization of adult-use sales in 2023 — is nearing $5 billion.
But rules that govern the multibillion-dollar industry continue to face changes and challenges. That includes incoming federal restrictions on hemp to Missouri's ongoing struggle to confront predatory contracts in a cannabis microbusiness program.
Missouri Independent cannabis reporter Rebecca Rivas joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss these recent updates. She also reflected on why Missouri lawmakers have struggled to regulate hemp, the local impact of President Donald Trump's executive order to reschedule marijuana, and more.
Read more at St. Louis Public Radio
