Rebecca Rivas

Marijuana manufacturer Delta Extraction has denied accusations that it illegally imported cannabis into Missouri, arguing it actually imported a non-psychoactive hemp product that was converted into THC once in the state. But dispensaries said they had no idea Delta's product was made from hemp.

Business owners say they had no idea they were paying marijuana prices for a ‘synthetic’ THC that had been converted from hemp.

Missouri law prohibits smoking marijuana in public places, unless local governments pass ordinances to permit it. But, what does that mean for Evolution Festival this weekend?

Marijuana testing labs face pressure to say products have higher THC potency results or lose business. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' new rules — including an extra layer of “round robin” testing or auditing of marijuana products — aims to prevent the practice.

Omitting marijuana incarceration rates from before 2003 limits eligibility in many areas with high Black populations, some advocates say.

Missouri regulators listed ZIP codes that qualify as having historic incarceration rates for marijuana offenses in the new cannabis rules. None are in north St. Louis where about half of the state’s Black population resides.

Between recreational and medical marijuana, Missouri hit $350 million in sales in the first three months since the state began allowing dispensaries to sale legal weed. Yet cannabis business owners say those numbers could be even higher since cultivators and manufacturers aren’t working at max capacity.

The bill would put the hemp-derived THC products under the same regulations as marijuana. Proponents say it’s about safety, though critics complain it further fuels the ‘marijuana monopoly.’

The number of licenses DHSS approves for new employees each month has quadrupled since November.

The measure to study psilocybin therapy still needs a final vote in the House before it heads to the Senate.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft tweeted that a job posting for a “diversity, inclusion and belonging leader” was an example of “left-wing indoctrination in the workplace” and the wrong use of taxpayer dollars. State agency leaders say inclusion and belonging programs help retain employees during a severe staffing shortage.

A huge selling point for those who voted for Amendment 3 in November was the automatic expungement provision — meaning people who have already served their sentences for past charges will have their records cleared. All marijuana-related misdemeanors must be expunged by June 8 and felonies by Dec. 8.