Missouri to research viability of issuing more adult-use marijuana licenses

Three research firms are competing to analyze Missouri’s cannabis market to help the state determine whether it should issue additional adult-use marijuana business licenses.

New York-based Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, St. Louis-headquartered Capital Consulting Services and Oregon-based Whitney Economics responded to the request for proposals the state issued in March to find a company to conduct a cannabis market and economic impact study, according to the Missouri Independent.

The research firms agree that Missouri’s recreational marijuana market has been successful since it launched in 2022.

“As it relates to cannabis markets, Missouri is pretty famously the model to follow,” Mackenzie Slade, CEO and owner of Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, told the Independent.

The key to the market’s success is the state’s decision to issue the minimum number of licenses allowed under its constitution, according to experts.

Since legalizing adult use in 2022, Missouri has issued nearly 400 marijuana business licenses to operate cultivation and manufacturing facilities and dispensaries, the Independent noted.

Eventually, the state will award 144 microbusiness licenses to disadvantaged business owners.

Missouri’s marijuana sales reached $1.46 billion in 2024 and $1.3 billion-plus in 2023.