Competing marijuana legalization questions in the works as some Missouri activists slam system | Marijuana

One of the hangers in the negotiations revolved around the concept of micro-licensing, an idea intended to appease those pushing for an open market while protecting the industry from too much competition, Kisner said.

Notes from the meeting show that last autumn the committee abandoned the discussion of opening up commercial licenses in favor of the micro-licensing idea. In the design language provided by Legal Missouri’s Kisner, a “marijuana micro-shop facility” would be limited to 200 flowering plants.

In mid-September, industry and legal subcommittees voted on whether to restrict sales of micro-licensees to consumers. The groups diverged on the issue, with advocates opposed to the restrictions and industry members voting for them.

Kisner said the restriction effectively forced these small licensees to sell to established companies and forced micro-licensees to accept what commercial buyers were willing to pay. Micro-licensed buds would then be marketed and priced as “craft cannabis,” said Kisner.

“Everyone is calling for more inclusion in the industry,” he said. “That’s more exclusive.”

In return for the limit, the minutes of the meeting read, “industry representatives advocated the idea that all licensees must contribute to a fund, and that money is used as a loan or grant or the like to set up and build micro-licensees their business. “