Significant Findings in Our Missouri Report
Updated: Dec 8, 2020
Our report "What Happened in Missouri? America's Most Controversial Medical Marijuana Licensing Process Explained" has attracted a fair amount of controversy and some modest coverage, but importantly, no challenge to the facts and record as presented.
The report itself is enormous, at 156 pages, including addenda. You would have to have a serious interest in the process here (like the some 800 applicants in the appeal process) to take the time to wade through it and pay attention to the details.
In summary, here are what we believe to be the most important facts in the report:
The Dec. 2015 Missouri Cannabis Industry Association minutes, which represent input from New Approach Missouri initiative drafters, indicates clearly that the inside discussion of license caps had everything to do with major funders wishing to restrict market competition (pgs 15-17)
Major conflicts of interest with Wise Health Solutions:
-previous disclosure that application scorer Samaara Robbins was affiliated with
Canna Advisors, a consulting group claiming 29 license wins in Missouri (pgs 52-
56)
-We also disclosed an unknown conflict: Wise Health Solutions executive lead
Ross Mirkarimi is a former lawmaker who promulgated local marijuana
regulations in California, after which he ran for and won the sheriff's seat in San
Francisco, a campaign that was backed by significant interests in California's
marijuana industry, including Debby Goldsberry, who wrote applications in
tandem with Green Rush Consulting for license winners Calyx Peak Capital (pgs
59-63)
Major conflict of interest with application submission platform Complia: Advisory board members prior to Complia's acquisition in 2018 by government contractor NIC included Diane & Jay Czarkowski of Canna Advisors, although it's not clear if they continue to serve in this capacity (pgs 74-76)
Medical marijuana reforms without caps on licensing might have passed the Missouri General Assembly in 2018 but for opposition from New Approach Missouri backer MO St. Senator Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City), who now works for license winner Clovr Cannabis (pgs 21-23)
The Missourians for a New Approach/Legal Missouri 2022 recreational marijuana campaign appears poised to dictate that medical marijuana market incumbents get primacy in recreational marijuana licensing (Addendum J, pgs 139-143)
Patrick Nolan Esq. also provides his take on this report here: