KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some Missourians are scrambling right now applying to get a Microbusiness license to open up a marijuana business in the state.
The applications are only accepted for two weeks, between April 15 and April 29.
It’s intended to give people who quality a chance to benefit from a booming marijuana industry in the state that already has boasted more than a billion dollars in sales in its first year.
“[New microbusiness licenses] will add quite a bit of new competition and that’s good for consumers,” said National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Missouri Coordinator and National Board Chair Dan Viets.
He says the Microbusiness process allows qualifying applicants to diversify who is involved in the cannabis industry in the state.
“We cannot write a law that says that a certain percentage of licenses go to people of a certain ethnic background,” said Viets. “That has been repeatedly stricken by the federal courts.”
The five criteria to be eligible for the program are:
- A networth less than $250,000 and have an income below 250% for the federal poverty income guidelines for at least three of the last ten years.
- A U.S. Military Veteran with a service-related disability
- Have a marijuana conviction or a parent, guardian, or spouse with on at least one year befor ethe effective date
- Live in certain ZIP codes
- Have…