At least seven marijuana cultivation facilities in Missouri have been fined over the last year for breaking what's known in the industry as the "immaculate conception rule."
Marijuana can't pass over state lines because it's still federally illegal, and state law mandates that all marijuana must be grown within the state. However, there is one year after a licensee passes a commencement inspection when the state essentially closes its eyes and puts its hands over its ears on how a cultivation facility starts its inventory. It's called the immaculate conception rule, and six facilities were fined up to $500,000 for breaking it last year.
A spokesperson for the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation said regulators "discovered some licensees believed they were permitted to bring in clones or tissue cultures as well as seeds on an ongoing basis. However, this practice is a violation of seed-to-sale tracking regulations."
To keep up with customers' preferences and demand, these companies had been bringing in clones, or starter plants, and tissue cultures, which is a form of in-vitro propagation, of popular plant varieties from other states.
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