The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Friday began the process of rolling out the first round of certifications for medical marijuana seed-to-sale entities.

Seed-to-sale is a tracking software system, designed to track medical marijuana from the seed or immature plant stage until the medical marijuana is sold to a patient.

All seed-to-sale tracking systems must be able to interface with a statewide track and trace system, provide the DHSS with access to all information in the database and maintain confidentiality of all patient data and records, according to the Missouri Code of State Regulations.

Each medical marijuana facility must pay an annual fee to DHSS. For seed-to-sale, the fee is $5,000.

Unlike some license categories, which are closed for new applications, seed-to-sale applications will remain open. The DHSS also cannot limit the number of certifications available.

A full list of all approved and denied applicants was uploaded to the DHSS website Tuesday once all applicants were notified.

DHSS approved six applicants: SWIN LLC, Artemis Agtech, Inc., Bio-Tech Medical Software Inc., MJ Freeway LLC, Validated Housing LLC and Retail Innovation Labs LLC.

Two applicants — Leaf Logix Technologies Inc. and Canna Botanicals Coop, LLC — were denied.

DHSS previously issued licenses to 192 dispensary facilities, 86 manufacturing facilities, 10 testing facilities, 21 transportation facilities and 60 cultivation facilities across the state.

Once dispensaries open, probably sometime in late spring or early summer, patients may only purchase up to 4 ounces of medical marijuana in a 30-day period. The possession limit for a certified patient is a 60-day supply.

Qualifying patients may cultivate up to six flowering marijuana plants, six non-flowering plants (more than 14 inches tall), and six “clones” (plants less than 14 inches tall) at any given time in a locked facility.

Dispensaries may begin to sell patients seeds and starter plants beginning Jan. 1, 2021.