By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
A licensed cannabis business in Kansas City held a massive festival to celebrate Missouri’s first 4/20 since the state legalized marijuana for recreational use.
The local government approved the smoking of pot at a public event.
Amy Moore, the director of cannabis regulation for the state, said at a hearing of a legislative panel in May that “it was the first time it had happened.”
Moore noted that while the organizers did an “excellent” job of adhering to state regulations in this event, other events were not as successful. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has had difficulty holding medical marijuana businesses accountable for actions that violated their rules.
Moore told reporters that businesses who received state licenses for marijuana cultivation or sales should be held responsible for the events they organize.
When the new cannabis regulation goes into effect on Monday, officials will be able to fine marijuana facilities, suspend their operation or even revoke licenses for hosting events that involve illegal activity.
She told lawmakers in May that “it would be up to us to decide whether or not the event they organized and the format they used for the conduct at issue was really the cause of whatever happened.”
Some legislators, however, resisted giving this authority to the department.
“I do not see the alcohol industry treated the same way,” said Sen. Nick Schroer of St. Charles, a Republican and Chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules at a committee meeting on May 8.
Missouri voters approved recreational pot in November. This meant that the Department had to release a new set rules to implement this constitutional amendment. These guidelines were first presented by the department in January. They went through public comments before being approved by their final hurdle, the joint committee.
In the 127 pages of the new rules, the provision on event organization is just one sentence. It states: “A licensee who organizes an event can be penalized…for any violations…that happen at the event.”
It caused a heated debate with lawmakers in May.
Moore was asked by State Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) how far the officials plan to take this rule.
Merideth stated that “there’s no limit on…whether rule violations were caused by their fault or negligence.” It’s almost a strict-liability consequence.
Moore responded that the penalties were discretionary and noted that the rule states “may.”
Merideth asked whether someone who brought marijuana into an event after buying it illegally would be a good example of what organizers might be held responsible for.
She said that it was unlikely we would issue a violation for a licensee who had accessed illegal products without the knowledge of the facility.
Merideth, however, said that he still had concerns about the rules giving too much “broad power.”
During the meeting in May, Sen. John Rizzo (D-Kansas City) also asked for examples of actions that the department would consider punishable.
Moore described an event where business owners of medical marijuana businesses brought in doctors to certify patients on the spot. She said that the physicians were not reviewing the medical histories of the patients in accordance with the law.
Moore said to Rizzo, “I don’t say this is the first time we’ve experienced a problem.” “I think it would be fair for our licensees if we talked more about the past, what is happening or what investigations are currently underway.”
Lisa Cox, a department spokesperson, sent an email this week to The Independent in which she gave a second example of home growers setting up booths for the sale of what they have grown.
Cox said, “This is a violation both of the law and of the rule.” “They shouldn’t also organize events when other licensees of the facility are violating rules relating to sales. The new rule could hold both the facility that violated the rules as well as the facility that created the conditions for the violation to happen, responsible.
She said that licensees will have 30 days to explain and respond to the incident.
The Department could fine licensees “an amount equal to the average gross daily receipts for the preceding calendar month.”
The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association sent a letter to the committee members stating that businesses could not simply place their signs at public events and be held liable for any incidents.
The letter said that “this provision is so recklessly designed that it will effectively discourage licensees to sponsor any event and chill the exercise of commercial free speech rights under the First Amendment.”
Moore, however, said that the phrase was meant to be directed at the organizers and it was changed.
Jack Cardetti, the spokesman of the association, said in a comment made this week to The Independent, “MoCannTrade supports the revisions that were made to the proposed regulations which, to our opinion, improved the final rule.”
This article was originally published by Missouri Independent.
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