Governor Parson’s Marijuana Executive Order Is a Misguided War on Missouri’s Cannabis Industry

Governor of Missouri Mike ParsonThe recent executive order banning the sale of intoxicating cannabis products is a major blow to the cannabis industry in a state that has been a beacon of legal economic growth and innovation since the 2018 Farm Bill. This executive overreach not only threatens thousands of jobs, but also raises serious ethical and constitutional issues, especially given the timing and apparent conflicts of interest.

Parson’s executive order targets unregulated psychoactive cannabis products, which include Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Delta-10 THC, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-O), tetrahydrocannabiforal (THCP), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and other similar compounds, under the guise of protecting children. But that reasoning falls apart when examined more closely.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, unregulated cannabis products account for 40% of marijuana-related poison control center calls. Officials had no satisfactory answer when asked about the remaining 60% coming from the heavily regulated legal cannabis industry. The discrepancy suggests that the unregulated cannabis market may be more effective at keeping marijuana out of children’s reach than the regulated marijuana market.

Moreover, the executive order does not prevent online sales or sales at locations outside the jurisdiction of the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, meaning that only Missouri retailers with liquor licenses and local producers are affected. This selective enforcement appears to be designed to protect the interests of multistate operators who currently dominate the state’s regulated marijuana market.

The timing of the executive order — just before the election and the significant donations from the marijuana industry to Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey — raise serious ethical concerns. One of the largest donations from the marijuana industry was $25,000 from MO Majority PAC, a political action committee linked to lobbyist and longtime Parson adviser Steve Tilley. That connection suggests the executive order may be more about financial interests than child safety.

On July 30, The Missouri Independent reported, “Last month, Uniting Missouri accepted a $50,000 donation from the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association and $15,000 from Torch Electronics, a Wildwood-based company accused of operating illegal slot machines across the state.” Torch also donated $15,000 to Uniting Missouri, a pro-Parson PAC.

State Rep. Tony Lovasco, D-64, aptly criticized the executive order, stating, “This is absolutely unacceptable. The Legislature has debated bills that would do similar things and rightly rejected them. For the governor to step in and unilaterally ban previously legal commerce is a huge abuse of his executive authority. What’s more, it’s terrible policy. Missouri should not be allowing entire industries to fail because it’s too lazy to properly regulate product safety.”

Conflict of interest in Jefferson City?

During the 2024 session of the Missouri General Assembly, the cannabis industry attempted to introduce regulations and age verification for hemp-derived cannabinoids. However, those efforts were thwarted by the marijuana industry’s insistence that only licensed marijuana businesses could produce or sell the products. State Rep. Barry Hovis introduced a compromise amendment that was ultimately opposed by marijuana industry lobbyists, ending any prospects for fair regulation.

The main component of legislative interest in the issue comes from law enforcement, particularly the Law Enforcement Legislative Coalition and its lobbyist Dena Ladd. Ladd is also a board member of the cannabis trade association MoCannTrade and an investor in St. Louis Cannabis Company. Her dual roles and investment interests underscore the conflict of interest, as she is hardly a neutral player in the endeavor.

Marijuana licensing in Jefferson City is highly controversial. In 2020, 85% of marijuana license applications were rejected in a process criticized for its opacity and bias. More than 850 lawsuits have been filed against the state over those rejections, with accusations of a rigged system that benefits the few. John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022, has been accused of rigging the micro-business marijuana license lottery to favor those who signed predatory consulting contracts with him. Rod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP, expressed disappointment that Payne is monopolizing the licensing process. Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis NAACP, has also criticized the process, calling it “indentured servitude.”

Parson’s executive order does not prohibit online sales or sales at locations other than those controlled by Alcohol and Tobacco Control. The only businesses affected are Missouri retailers with liquor licenses and Missouri manufacturers of products. But because the heavily regulated and federally illegal marijuana industry, controlled by multistate operators, accounts for the majority of marijuana poisonings in Missouri, it raises questions about the effectiveness and fairness of the new regulations. The federally legal marijuana industry has taken a major hit, and constitutional rights are at risk of being ignored.

No mention of Delta-9 THC for

Critics have noted that the executive order makes no mention of Delta-9 THC, speculating that it’s because non-hemp-derived Delta-9 is a controlled substance. The state couldn’t make a case against it without admitting deficiencies in its marijuana program. The omission suggests that producers will switch to hemp-derived Delta-9 THC instead of the other isomers approved in the 2018 Farm Bill. That could mean the “bad actors” Bailey claims to be targeting will continue to operate unchallenged while the state punishes its own residents for operating federally legal businesses that threaten new marijuana tax revenues.

Although hemp industry interests have introduced regulatory language, the marijuana industry has opposed these efforts, seeking instead to ban hemp-derived products outside of marijuana dispensaries. In addition, bills seeking to ban hemp products have also been defeated. Despite these efforts, the state has proceeded with an executive order, bypassing the legislative process and raising further concerns about the democratic process and the rights of hemp industry stakeholders in Missouri.

Despite what most people probably thought they were voting for, marijuana remains a controlled substance in Missouri — meaning that, while not enforced, marijuana is still illegal in most respects in the state. Hemp, on the other hand, remains legal federally in every respect, even when the state government oversteps its authority.

Parson’s executive order banning unregulated psychoactive cannabis products has significant ethical and legal implications, especially given his administration’s financial ties to the marijuana industry and the timing of the order. Like his attacks on the Second Amendment and gun manufacturers, Parson seems to have a double standard when it comes to cannabis, especially when Missouri ranks among the top states in the country for unintentional gun deaths of children, with at least 129 children killed between 2015 and 2023. In contrast, there have been no reported cannabis deaths. Is this really for kids, or is Parson adopting Orwellian newspeak?

As cannabis attorney Rod Kight recently told me, “This executive order doesn’t actually solve any of the problems it claims to solve; it only hurts the legal cannabis industry.” Missouri doesn’t need the show-the-money leadership style of AG Bailey and Gov. Parsons. We need leadership that cares about both the residents and the local businesses in our state.

John Grady is a producer and farmer at SlapHappy Hemp Company in Hermann, Missouri.