There are two sides to Missouri’s cannabis industry. Since voters legalized the sale of recreational cannabis to adults in 2023, the industry has generated nearly $1.5 billion in sales and $250 million in sales tax — a windfall that’s earmarked to fund programs for veterans, substance abuse treatment and the state’s chronically underpaid public defenders.
But the industry’s rapid expansion has come with complications. That includes a pattern of revocations in the state’s cannabis microbusiness program. Of the 96 licenses issued by the state since 2023, 34 have been revoked by regulators — including 25 revocations issued last week.
“What we're seeing,” said Missouri Independent cannabis industry reporter Rebecca Rivas, “is what the state would call alleged predatory practices in the way that people are applying for those” licenses.
The industry’s growth is also bringing customers to cannabis chefs like Dragon Biscuit’s Mike Zumwald. On Saturday, Zumwald was one of a dozen chefs to compete in STL’s Pot Chef Competition.
“It's actually a journey of over 20 years,” Zumwald said. “I joined NORML in college because I wanted to reform marijuana laws. And once it became legal in Missouri, [I] was like, ‘Hey, I'm going to join the cannabis industry.’ From there, I learned to grow. From growing, I decided, ‘Hey, I know how to cook stuff,’ and I found a buddy who was willing to help me live out that dream.”
To hear from other cannabis chefs, as well as insight from Rebecca Rivas into why the state’s cannabis microbusiness program keeps revoking applicants and about her reporting into an ongoing recall of thousands of cannabis items, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or click the play button below.
See more photos from STL Pot Chef's Ultimate Infused Showdown by St. Louis Public Radio Visuals Editor Brian Munoz:
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
