Medical marijuana entrepreneurs are eyeing Callaway County for their next venture.

Five growers and five dispensaries hoping to set up shop within Callaway County applied for licenses with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services before the Aug. 17 deadline. The evaluation period for the licenses comes to an end Saturday, and the DHSS must approve or deny applications by Dec. 31.

Fulton City Clerk Courtney Crowson noted she hasn’t yet received any business license applications for medical marijuana facilities.

“While we have had a few phone calls and individuals state they have submitted applications to the state for a license, I believe we will have a more-concrete idea once the state announces who will actually be receiving licenses,” she said.

Following the passage of Amendment 2 in 2018, the DHSS planned to award a total of 348 licenses to hopeful operators of cultivation facilities, dispensaries, manufacturers and testing labs. They received a total of 2,163 deadlines, including 554 applications for the 60 available cultivation facility licenses and 1,163 applications for 192 dispensary licenses.

This means it’s unlikely all 10 Callaway County applicants will be bestowed with a license — but it doesn’t hurt to take a look at potential local medical marijuana purveyors.

According to DHSS data, here are the companies hoping to move into Callaway County, along with where they plan to open shop.

• Elemental MOC: a cultivator, located at 5151 Route J west of Fulton. Its articles of organization lists Rachel Rowden, of Fulton, as the registered agent and Peter Andreone, of Overland Park, Kansas, as the organizer. Rowden is the former owner of Second Chance Homes of Fulton.
• Seven Points Agro-Therapeutics MO: a cultivator, located at 8645 County Road 349 in New Bloomfield. Its articles of organization, found via the Missouri Secretary of State’s business search, list Arrington Herry, of Maryland, as the organizer, though the form notes organizers don’t necessarily have to be managers or owners of the business.
• Mo Med Fulton: a dispensary, located at 540 Commons Drive in Fulton — the former location of Sears. Its articles of organization list Corey Eagen, of Kirksville, as the registered agent and Brooke Foster, of Macon, as the organizer.
• PMEM: a dispensary, located at 601 Airway Drive in Fulton — the former Elite Auto and Marine building. Its articles of organization list Frederick Christman, of Columbia, and Dawn Perry, of Fulton, as organizers and Christman as the registered agent.
• KKFC: a cultivator, located at 1530 County Road 256 west of Kingdom City. Its articles of organization list Christman and Charles Perry, both of Fulton, as organizers and Christman as the registered agent.
• Nature’s Med MO: a dispensary, located at 1221 Bluff St. in Fulton — the empty building next to Ovid Bell Press. Its articles of organization list Amitkumar Patel, of Sunset Hills, as both the organizer and registered agent.
• MediMO: a cultivator, located on County Road 101 east of Fulton. Its articles of organization list Sonia Becerra, of Houston, Texas, as an organizer.
• NR Enterprises: a cultivator, located at 10098 Route O in Portland. Its articles of organization list Robert Jacobs, of St. Louis, as the registered agent and Christine Mace, of St. Louis, as the organizer.
• Nina Leaf: a dispensary, located at 5930 Old U.S. Highway 40 in Kingdom City. Its articles of organization list Elliana Dixon, of Fulton, as both the registered agent and organizer.
• Standard Wellness Missouri: a dispensary located on County Road 211 in Kingdom City. Its articles of organization list Erik Vaughan, of Gibsonburg, Ohio, as the registered agent.

The business owners don’t necessarily own the locations they listed. However, according to a DHSS FAQ sheet, the DHSS expects “all applicants to have a reasonable expectation that they will be able to follow through on how they propose to operate their businesses, including the location in which they propose to operate.” That means potential business operators can’t just list a random address.

Within Fulton, city authorities have already drawn up and passed regulations limiting where facilities may open and how they can operate. Visit bit.ly/2pWUBAU to learn more.

Get carded

Though legal dispensaries won’t be opening until after the first of the year, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is accepting and approving medical marijuana cards for patients now.

Cards cost $25 annually for qualified caregivers and patients. It costs an additional $100 per year to grow up to six plants per patient at home, and home-growers must follow certain safety requirements and local regulations (such as ensuring passers-by can’t smell the plants). Patients or caregivers may begin growing their own marijuana upon receiving the cultivation identification card, though the DHSS notes they “cannot advise anyone on where to obtain the means to grow marijuana.”

Prior convictions for marijuana possession don’t disqualify individuals from receiving a patient license.

Hopeful patients must have a physician complete a certification form certifying they have a qualifying condition.

Qualifying medical conditions include:

• Cancer
• Epilepsy
• Glaucoma
• Intractable migraines unresponsive to other treatment
• A chronic medical condition that causes severe, persistent pain or persistent muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinson’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome
• Debilitating psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress order, if diagnosed by a state licensed psychiatrist
• HIV or AIDS
• A chronic medical condition normally treated with prescription medications that could lead to physical or psychological dependence, when a physician determines medical use of marijuana could be effective in treating that condition and would serve as a safer alternative to the prescription medication
• A terminal illness
• Any other chronic, debilitating or other medical condition, including, but not limited to, hepatitis C
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, Huntington’s disease, autism, neuropathies, sickle cell anemia, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia and wasting syndrome

To learn more, visit health.mo.gov/safety/medical-marijuana.