Cannabis advocacy organizations are sounding the alarm about guidance from state regulators limiting how much medical marijuana patients can purchase from licensed dispensaries.
By law, dispensaries are required to track how much medical marijuana patients buy so they don’t exceed their limit.
According to a FAQ that was added earlier this year to the website of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the state’s cannabis regulatory agency, if patients reach their limit they are not legally allowed to buy marijuana like as a recreational consumer.
“…patient ID card holders are not allowed to purchase as a consumer in a licensed dispensary,” the website states. “These regulations help ensure patients and consumers stay within their allowed possession limits.”
In general, medical patients are limited to a 6-ounce allotment of dried, unprocessed marijuana every 30 days. Recreational consumers are allowed to purchase up to 3 ounces every day—but can’t possess more than 3 ounces.
The state is prohibited by law from tracking the purchases of people who don’t have patient ID cards without their permission.
Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Marijuana Trade Association, sent a letter to leaders of the Division of Cannabis Regulation in April claiming the policy is unconstitutional.
“We believe that DCR’s interpretation that a Missourian must either be an adult-use consumer or a medical patient is neither good public policy nor a constitutionally sound interpretation,” he wrote.
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