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Missouri Marijuana Businesses Fined For Bringing Clones Across State Lines In Violation Of Rules

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“Some licensees believed they were allowed to bring in clones or tissue cultures and seeds on an ongoing basis.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

At least seven Missouri marijuana growers have been fined in the past year for violating what’s known in the industry as the “immaculate origination rule.”

Marijuana cannot cross state lines because it is still illegal, and state law dictates that all marijuana must be grown within the state.

However, a year passes when a licensee passes an initial inspection when the state essentially turns a blind eye and puts its hands over its ears to how a cultivation facility begins its inventory.

It’s called the clean conception rule, and last year six facilities were fined $500,000 for breaking it.

A spokeswoman for Missouri’s Division of Cannabis Regulation said regulators “found that some licensees believed they were permitted to bring in clones or tissue cultures as well as seeds on an ongoing basis. However, this practice violates the seed sales tracking regulations.”

To keep up with customer preferences and demand, these companies brought in clones or starter plants and tissue cultures, a form of in vitro propagation, of popular plant varieties from other states.

“In lieu of penalties or other enforcement actions, these violations were settled for amounts ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, depending on the situation,” said Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Aging Services, which oversees the cannabis regulatory division.

Licensees who have seen the largest fines are major players in other states, including the companies behind Good Day Farm and High Profile.

The combined fee for the four cultivation licenses representing Good Day Farm and Codes, shared management, was $347,495. Facilities are located in Columbia, Carrollton and Chaffee.

For High Profile, it was $500,000 at its O’Fallon cultivation facility.

Two smaller growers also saw fines of $20,000 and $50,000.

None of the licensees fined by the state returned The Independent’s request for comment.

‘mother plant’

Missouri cultivation facilities are approved to grow marijuana plants, and the harvest is sent to a manufacturing facility, which is then made into pre-rolls, edibles and other products.

Often, growers will develop a “mother plant” to collect clones or cuttings from the plant and put them in their pots. These are genetically identical to the plant from which they are cut.

But where does the mother plant come from?

In the first year of a facility, “the rules and the law are silent on how that happens,” Cox said.

After that, facilities can apply to the state for permission to bring in seeds for “continuing inventory needs,” or they can obtain clones from other licensed growers located in Missouri.

But the state fined several licensees last year for not following those rules, sending a clear message to all Missouri businesses that they must grow plants from seed or get starter plants from competitors.

Ryan Schepers, St. Louis Community College’s cannabis program professor, said that as a “plant nerd,” he doesn’t think starting from seed is necessarily difficult or a bad thing for industry innovation.

“I think a lot of cultivation centers are set up to take care of plants that are already established, and that would be a bit of a challenge,” he said.

But there’s nothing that “well-versed” plant growers working at the cultivation centers can’t handle, he said. He said the main challenge is the delay in production. It will take about a month to six weeks for a cannabis plant to start getting well established, he said, but they will be “pretty hardy plants.”

“Clones are obviously much easier to deal with,” he said.

But tissue cultures involve a small number of cells to begin with, he said, and that process can take as long as seeds to germinate.

He understands that it is difficult for companies to align the growing season of plants with the need to keep up with trends in other states. If a product sells very well in California, he said, “of course we’ll try to get the same thing in Missouri.”

However, he said the cultivation center can discourage him from trying new things. For the sake of his students, he hopes the emphasis will shift to growth and innovation.

“We at St Louis Community College really emphasize that our students are plant scientists who focus on cannabis,” he said.

Innovation can be difficult when federal and state laws are changing rapidly, he added.

The Independent asked if the state would consider allowing licensees to obtain clones in the future to continue popular varieties.

“The department was looking at the DEA’s guidelines that state that clones are not considered marijuana under federal law because of the low concentrations of Delta 9 (THC),” Cox said.

However, recent changes in federal law “may change the status of seeds and clones,” he said. He was referring to the hemp restrictions that were passed as part of the federal spending package last year and will go into effect in November.

“So the department will have to follow federal guidance,” Cox said, “and interpret how it develops over the next year before making any changes to rules or processes.”

This story was first published by the Missouri Independent.

Photo by Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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Speakeasy Dispensary announces opening of newest Kentucky location

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Speakeasy Dispensary will officially open its newest medical cannabis location in Kentucky at 108 E. Main St., Princeton, KY 42445, further expanding access to patients in Caldwell County and surrounding communities.

The dispensary will open at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 10 for registered medical cannabis patients.

Located in the heart of downtown Princeton, the space reflects Speakeasy’s vision to blend local character and a comfortable, patient-first experience. The carefully designed environment provides a welcoming entrance before patients enter the main sales floor, where trained team members provide personalized guidance and education tailored to the individual’s needs.

“Each new location is an opportunity to meet patients where they are,” said Casey Flippo, CEO of Gold Leaf Management. “Communities like Princeton are an important part of Kentucky’s medical cannabis program, and expanding access here means more patients can explore safe and regulated options closer to home. As the program continues to take shape, our focus remains on building something reliable, accessible and rooted in long-term care.”

Opening weekend will feature a low-cost patient drive, offering new and existing patients an affordable and streamlined way to obtain or renew their Kentucky cannabis license.

© Speakeasy Dispensary

In partnership with the Kentucky Cannabis Industry Association and LexMed & Wellness, patient tours will be held Friday, April 10th from 11:00am to 7:00pm and Saturday, April 11th from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Appointments will be made with a licensed provider in a mobile unit on site, so patients can complete the entire process, including assessment, notary and state filing, in one visit.

Patients can register for an appointment by clicking here. The appointment fee is $25, and an additional $25 state fee must be paid when submitting documents to the state portal. The $25 state fee is waived for anyone who received a valid medical card in 2025.

As Kentucky’s medical cannabis market continues to develop, product availability and selection will continue to grow along with additional growers and processors entering the space. In addition to flowers and gummies, Speakeasy Princeton plans to have an extensive menu soon after opening, which will include vapes and concentrates, along with a new variety of gummies. Speakeasy continues to focus on providing a consistent education-first experience supported by strong statewide partnerships.

For more information:
Speakeasy Dispensary
speakeasydispensaries.com/

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West Virginia Treasurer Allocates Medical Marijuana Revenue Despite Governor’s Veto

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“The issue is not whether the funds should be used, but how they are used and how we are doing it in a responsible and sustainable way.”

By Henry Culvyhouse, Mountain State Spotlight

This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter.

Even with the veto he could have delayed it further $38 million spent on medical marijuana raised over the past four years, state Treasurer Larry Pack (R) now says he will release the funds during his original term.

Last week, Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) vetoed a bill that would have required the release of medical marijuana funds to help the homeless and expedite child abuse and neglect cases in the court system. He said the bill tied up money for future expenses.

In his veto letter, Morrisey wrote, “West Virginia needs to do a better job of planning for the future, and cannot fully pre-commit future revenue like this if it has reserves to invest more in roads, water, sewer, site selection, rail and future tax cuts.”

Morrisey said he was willing to negotiate with the Legislature on how to spend the money.

“The issue is not whether the funds should be used, but how they are used and whether we are doing so responsibly and sustainably,” Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the governor’s office, wrote in an email.

But the money was pre-committed in state code.

Pack’s office said 100 percent of that money will go to various offices and programs mandated by the original law; more than half to the Office of Medical Cannabis, with the remaining funds split between the substance abuse treatment grant program and law enforcement grants. The move negates the governor’s desire to use future reserves to deal with infrastructure and tax cuts.

In October, a Mountain State Spotlight investigation revealed that $34 million was deposited into an account held by the Treasury Department from the state’s medical marijuana program..

Pack’s office said the money it was not spent due to legal concerns about the drug. Currently, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I narcotic under federal law, meaning it has no medical use and is illegal.

Pack is not the first state treasurer to express concern. State Treasurer John Perdue (D) said his office would not keep money in 2018 after the Medical Cannabis Act was passed. Riley Moore (R), who beat Perdue in the 2020 race, never released the money.

In the 2026 Legislative Session, Del. Rep. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, said he read a report on the funds raised and wanted to change it. He successfully led a bill that would have forced the state to spend money on a commission to help thousands of children with abuse and neglect in court and homelessness services.

Had the governor not vetoed the bill, the money would have been earmarked for one year for those things. The commission on substance abuse research, treatment, and abuse and neglect would continue for years to come.

Treasurer’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Smith said that due to the complexity of state and federal laws, the office had been working for months to release the money. He said that the money has been sent to the Department of Security and the Department of Health.

This the article appeared for the first time The focus of the Mountain State and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

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Critical updates for cannabis taxpayers as the 2025 filing deadline approaches

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With the April 2025 tax return filing deadline fast approaching, cannabis companies must once again face the burden of Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 280E”). Despite significant developments over the past year — including a major executive order from President Trump and the IRS, for the first time, disclosing legal reasoning funds to keep state cannabis “within the meaning” of Section 280E — taxpayer scrutiny remains the same.

However, whether substantively or psychologically, these recent developments weigh on how taxpayers should deal with Section 280E. Below, we summarize the key developments that cannabis taxpayers should be aware of as they prepare their 2025 returns.

As discussed in previous publications, Section 280E provides: “(e) no deduction or credit shall be allowed for any amount paid or incurred in the course of any trade or business during the taxable year, if such trade or business (or the activities constituting such trade or business) is trafficking in controlled substances (controlled substance classes I and II prohibited by State or Federal law).

Because cannabis is now listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the IRS has consistently maintained that Section 280E applies to state-licensed cannabis businesses, significantly increasing their effective tax rates.

Read more at JD above










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