St. Louis company begins producing medical marijuana candies; goal is 20,000 per day
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri (KMOV) — Proper Cannabis in St. Louis County is the first company in Missouri to be licensed to grow and manufacture medical marijuana under one roof. The company began production Tuesday.
“Today we’re making gumdrops. Blood orange strawberry is the flavor,” said Proper’s Culinary Director Dave Owens. He leads a team of four working in the kitchen at Proper.
“It’s depositing into the molds and then that will go town to the cooling tunnel and then we’ll pop them out of the mold,” said Owens. His goal is to make 20,000 pieces of candy per day.
Each gumdrop contains five milligrams of THC. Owens, the former head chocolatier at Bissingers, plans to make several more gumdrop flavors this week and then switch to chocolate bars next week. He hopes to begin making mints in early May.
“It’s a three-year vision that is now happening and in less than a few weeks, it will be on store shelves all across Missouri,” said John Pennington, founder and CEO of Proper Cannabis.
Pennington is opening two storefronts in the St. Louis metro area on April 16 and 17. He believes as many as 130,000 people will be approved for medical marijuana use in the next few months.
“You know, the state I believe right now is backlogged with patients who are desiring to get their card,” said Pennington.
More and more dispensaries are popping up. All products sold in Missouri dispensaries must be grown and manufactured in Missouri. In order to buy medical marijuana products, you must receive approval from a doctor saying you have one of 21 qualifying conditions, which include chronic pain, cancer or autism.
“You see less consumption of opiates, you see less overdoses from those types of drugs and you’re allowing people to consume in a way that’s all natural,” said Pennington. “They can have a much better quality of life.”
Pennington said he’ll begin selling his products statewide around the beginning of May.
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