State health department approves medical marijuana growing applications

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Thursday approved applications for the first round of medical marijuana growing operations.

DHSS approved 60 cultivation applications out of the 540 requests submitted. Ten applications in Mid-Missouri were approved:

• 1913 Holdings LLC. approved for one application in Vandalia and Waynesville
• Standard Wellness LLC. approved for three applications in Vandalia
• Agri-Genesis LLC. approved for three applications in Macon
• Holistic Missouri LLC. approved for one application in Sunrise Beach
• Hippos LLC. approved for one application in Vienna

The director for medical marijuana for the state, Lyndall Fraker, said the applications were evaluated on 10 factors. Fraker said the factors included experience from growing operations in other states, the background of the applicants and the environmental impact of the operations.

"We hired a third-party company to do the scoring in a blind fashion, so all names were redacted," Fraker said.

Fraker said applicants have five days to respond to DHSS. Approved facilities will have one year to establish a growing operation.

The majority of applications accepted were located around Kansas City and St. Louis.

Sixty applications for Mid-Missouri growing operations were submitted to the state.

• Boone County cultivator applications - 7
• Cole County cultivator applications - 7
• Randolph County cultivator applications - 7
• Miller County cultivator applications - 5
• Howard County cultivator applications - 1
• Cooper County cultivator applications - 7
• Callaway County cultivator applications - 6
• Audrain County cultivator applications - 5
• Chariton County cultivator applications - 1
• Morgan County cultivator applications - 4
• Maries County cultivator applications - 5
• Montgomery County cultivator applications - 5

State guidelines say the health department will approve more marijuana growing facilities, if the need necessitates.

Indoor and outdoor growing facilities have separate regulations. DHSS rules show all indoor medical marijuana growing operations will be limited to 30,000 square feet. Outdoor growing operations will be permitted to grow up to 2,800 marijuana plants. The outdoor operations in urban areas will have to implement and maintain an odor control plan.

Cultivators that have multiple applications approved for an area will be able to increase the size of the indoor growing operation by the number of applications approved.

Recently, DHSS also approved medical marijuana transportation facilities and marijuana testing labs.