When is the soonest you’d be able to buy legal weed if Missouri approves Amendment 3?

If Amendment 3 passes in November’s election, recreational marijuana will be legal in the state of Missouri.

People who are 21 years and older would even be able to buy, use and possibly sell marijuana recreationally. But several readers reached out to The Star to ask: How long after the election would someone be able to buy marijuana from a local dispensary?

The very earliest that consumers would be able to buy marijuana products recreationally in Missouri is Feb. 6, 2023.

According to the amendment, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has to start awarding comprehensive licenses to medical marijuana facilities by Feb. 6. The medical marijuana facilities already in place can start selling recreational marijuana at the point when they get that license. That could be as soon as Feb. 6, or a little later depending on how long it takes to distribute the licenses.

Once those medical marijuana companies are awarded a license to sell, cultivate and distribute recreational marijuana, they will technically be able to start selling immediately, according to John Payne, a spokesperson for LegalMo, the campaign that is pushing for Amendment 3.

“It’s just a difference in who they are allowed to sell to, but it shouldn’t require fundamental changes to how they operate,” Payne said in an email.

By the end of 2023, the state will also be able to award “microbusiness” licenses to smaller dispensaries throughout the state, which should be equally dispersed across Missouri’s eight congressional districts.

Amendment 3 requires the state health department to license at least two dispensaries in each congressional district to start. Those new dispensaries will start receiving licenses to sell recreational marijuana starting Sept. 4, 2023.

However, since these will be brand new facilities, it might take a few weeks or months before they can begin selling.

“They would have the legal capability to sell at that point, but logistically it will take longer there because those facilities will have to be built,” Payne said.

If you have more questions about the legalization of recreational marijuana, ask us at kcstar@kcq.com

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 1:33 PM.

Kynala Phillips

The Kansas City Star

Kynala Phillips was a Service Journalism Reporter at The Kansas City Star, where she worked to answer readers questions about the resources and services in the community. She attended the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is originally from Madison, Wisconsin.