MoCannTrade is an association of business owners, healthcare providers, professionals, and patients working to implement a successful, safe, and compliant medical marijuana program in Missouri. MoCannTrade is the representative “Voice of Trade” for its members and the industry and works with stakeholders, state government, and the Department of Health and Senior Services to develop and implement sensible, proven policies, rules, and regulations.
Andrew Mullins – Executive Director
The potential membership pool was tiny when the roots of MoCannTrade (Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association) first took hold: two St. Louis-area nonprofits were granted license in 2014 to cultivate the plant, manufacture and dispense CBD extract to epilepsy patients. It was their foresight into Missouri’s emerging industry that served as catalyst.
Fast-forward to 2019, and MoCannTrade’s profile is considerably higher, and its impact decidedly bigger.
In March, more than 2,200 aspiring industry participants—from patients, caregivers, and would-be cultivators to greenhouse vendors and software-solution experts—packed Union Station in St. Louis for the group’s inaugural trade show and business expo.
It was a coming-out party with a level of anticipatory buzz that exceeded even its organizers’ greatest expectations—not to mention a public show of force of the industry’s transformative social and economic potential.
“There’s an exuberance, energy, and excitement about the possibilities,” said MoCannTrade board chair John Curtis, also cultivation director at BeLeaf, one of the state’s two inaugural medical cannabis licensees.
With 300+ corporate members statewide and a prominent seat at the table as Missouri prepares to issue nearly 350 cannabis business licenses, the membership-based association unites doctors, patients, farmers, techies, and more.
Its early formation enabled MoCannTrade to get a head start on speaking with a unified industry voice even before state voters overwhelmingly approved the cultivation, distribution, sale, and use of medical marijuana in November 2018.
As the focus shifts to implementation and compliance with a voter-backed law now enshrined in the state Constitution, the trade group is poised to help lead a “Green Rush” expected to create thousands of jobs and funnel millions into the state’s economy—all while providing relief to patients with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, and other qualifying conditions.
“Missouri is well on its way to emerging as a model state when it comes to implementation and execution of medical cannabis rules and regulations,” said Andrew Mullins, MoCannTrade executive director. “We’re proud of our role in helping to make that happen on behalf of prospective business owners, investors, healthcare providers, caregivers, and most importantly, patients.”
As a membership-based association, MoCannTrade is directed by a board of diverse professionals experienced in medical marijuana, healthcare, law, pharmaceuticals, science, agriculture, law enforcement, security, commercial real estate, finance, public affairs, and regulatory sectors.
The nascent industry group’s emergence as the state’s leading voice on medical cannabis has infused participants with a united purpose and spirit of cooperation. Its smooth rollout of regulations is difficult, if not impossible, to find in the 31 other states that adopted medical marijuana earlier.
Voters in neighboring Arkansas, for instance, approved medical marijuana in 2016, but delays meant the first dispensary didn’t open until May 2019.
It’s also provided MoCannTrade and its members with the opportunity to provide state officials with valuable input into the myriad rules and regulations required to create such a heavily scrutinized industry from scratch.
Legal cannabis sales are expected to commence in Missouri in early 2020, with the state required by law to award licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensary sites by December 31.
That timetable, and MoCannTrade’s aggressive early efforts, has led to what Mullins calls a more “harmonious” and collaborative industry that doesn’t favor one license-holding business over another.
“We’re working in cohesion with our members and the state’s governing body to move in the same direction, toward ensuring Missouri has the best possible program implementation nationwide,” he said. “We like to think this distinct approach provides innovation of a different type, we are innovating how these programs are being implemented to an expeditious and successful conclusion…and from what we can tell, that’s one of a kind.”
All photos credit to Jennifer Silverberg Photography
