Hydroponics business sees increased interest in marijuana cultivation

With legal recreational marijuana coming to the Show Me State, businesses have been fielding...
With legal recreational marijuana coming to the Show Me State, businesses have been fielding questions from customers interested in purchasing, or even growing, marijuana.
Published: Dec. 7, 2022 at 7:36 PM CST
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - With legal recreational marijuana coming to the Show Me State, businesses have been fielding questions from customers interested in purchasing, or even growing, marijuana.

The owners of Quality Grow, a hydroponics shop in Waldo, said they have seen an increased interest in cultivating marijuana at home.

Emily and Jeremy Williams recently moved the business into a newer, larger space in Waldo. That was partly because of increased demand following the legalization of medical marijuana in the state.

“We’ve had a boom in people interested and I think we’ll continue to have a boom as recreational is legalized,” Emily said.

Dispensaries have been fielding a lot of questions about Missouri’s new amendment, which goes into effect Dec. 8. The amendment allows possession of up to 3 ounces, or roughly 85 grams, of marijuana. However, sellers will have to file an application for a comprehensive license in order to sell it for non-medical use. The licensing process will take at least 60 days.

Rob Sullivan, the owner of Fresh Green, said many customers have been under the mistaken impression that they can buy marijuana as early as Thursday. In reality, he and other vendors may not be able to operate under a comprehensive license until early February.

“We’ve been getting a lot of questions from people about whether we can sell tomorrow (Thursday),” he said. “The answer is: No, we can’t sell tomorrow. There’s a process in place where the state is making rules and everyone’s working fast, but it will be sometime next year.”

Sullivan is also expecting supplies to run low when dispensaries start selling to recreational customers. At his own business, he is planning to keep a separate stockpile of product to make sure medical users can continue to access it.

But, like most in the industry, Sullivan is also looking forward to an expanded customer base in the long run.

“For the whole state, it’s a historic time for everyone,” Sullivan said. “It’s historic for expungements for offenses. They’ll have to start working on that right away. Lots of revenue, happy citizens.”

Also read:

What you need to know as marijuana becomes legal in Missouri on Thursday

UM System keeps marijuana prohibited on all grounds