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Missouri Passes Medical Marijuana Law

December 6, 2018 • Missouri Employers Mutual

Missouri became the 33rd state to approve medical marijuana use on November 6, 2018. While this significant change may affect every Missouri employer in some way, Missouri employers have time to consider how they will accommodate the new law and what steps they need to take in the coming months to become more informed on how this change may affect their business.

As this brief timeline shows, many things need to happen before employees may begin legally using medical marijuana.

The changes take effect on December 6, 2018.

  • Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to publish applications for marijuana cultivation, testing, dispensaries and patient use by June 6, 2019
  • HSS will start accepting applications for individual use marijuana I.D. cards by July 6, 2019. HSS has up to 30 days to approve or deny I.D. applications.
  • HSS will begin accepting license applications for growth and dispensary operations. HSS will have up to 150 days to approve or deny license applications.

Based on these timeframes, legal patient medical marijuana use is not anticipated to begin until the latter half of 2019. Employers are encouraged to review their employment policies and educate themselves on what these new changes may mean for their particular business. Pre-employment and post-incident drug testing are still an important part of an effective drug free workplace policy and are still strongly recommended.

Date
December 6, 2018
Author
Missouri Employers Mutual
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