Missouri Governor Bets the Farm on Marijuana

Thank you, Sir, May I Have Another

Yesterday, August 21, 2024, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (Ashcroft) rejected a proposed Emergency Rule sent to him by the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC). The Emergency Rule sought to amend the Code of State Regulations (CSR) stating: 

“No retailer shall sell, or deliver, hold or offer for sale any food, drug, device, or cosmetic that has been embargoed by the Department of Health and Senior Services pursuant to Chapter 196, RSMo.”

As some may remember from our previous post here, Missouri Governor Mike Parsons (Parsons) recently issued Executive Order 24-10 (Order), decrying psychoactive cannabinoid products, and calling on the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to embargo these products and forbid alcohol license holders from selling them at retail. 

Much to the dismay of the state’s hemp industry, much to the applause of the state’s marijuana industry, and not to mention fresh on the heels of a fifty-thousand-dollar ($50,000) campaign contribution from the state’s marijuana businesses, Parsons’ Order directly targeted hemp-derived products. 

Missouri’s hemp laws (which allow for the sale of hemp products) changed in 2019, and Parsons’ Order was issued in August of 2024 under the auspices of “an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare”, and yet little to no information regarding said danger was provided. This theme continued when an Emergency Rule was sought, yet no information was provided about the issue, other than “Individuals have been hospitalized with severe, often fatal, responses to these substances.”

With little to no information supporting the request for the Emergency Rule, and certainly without satisfying the statutory requirements set forth in Missouri Revised Statutes § 536.025, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft rightly rejected the ATC’s proposed Emergency Rule. 

Shortly after crying sour grapes and wiping his tears with marijuana dollars, Parsons sent a letter today to Ashcroft stating, in part: 

“At best I can tell, you denied this emergency rulemaking because you believe hurt feelings are more important than protecting children. This is a personal matter for thousands of parents and grandparents across the state, and denying the rulemaking is your attempt at retribution for my endorsement of another candidate.”

Parsons continues, stating: 

“You have not provided any other reason why you do not believe this rule follows the statutory requirements for publication beyond simply stating it does not… Indeed there has been a 600% increase in emergency room visits for children under age five suffering from cannabis poisoning since 2018. These products could come from the Southern Border or adversarial counties like China, and there is no way of knowing what is in them.” 

Parsons, to his credit, does mention the likely source of some of the products he is trying to prevent from entering the marketplace, the Southern Border and China. What he fails to mention is the fact that some of these products could be coming from his own state’s regulated marijuana market. 

Instead of asking for an Emergency Rule narrowly tailored to address his concerns regarding products manufactured by bad actors, Parson’s letter today misses the mark by concluding: “I have directed ATC to resubmit the emergency rulemaking.” Instead of mandating packaging and labeling requirements, testing standards, and age-gating for these products, Parsons’ is addressing the alleged problem without factual backing or a sensible approach. By encouraging the ATC to resubmit, Ashcroft will again be forced to examine whether the state agency has met its statutory burden. 

We applaud Ashcroft for doing his job in spite of political bullying from the Governor, and we encourage him to uphold his responsibilities in the face of adversity.