Across Missouri, cannabis lounges are taking root in the ‘Wild West’ of marijuana laws | KCUR

As Missouri’s marijuana industry booms, entrepreneurs are looking to provide new opportunities for consumers in cannabis lounges.

Treehouse Lounge, a marijuana lounge just outside Nixa, opened in November 2023 and the company hopes to eventually expand statewide.

“We’re finally trying to get to an area where we can franchise … multiple locations. That way, if you’re a member of ours, you can be a member of all of us,” said Treehouse Lounge co-owner Anthony Bingham. “If you go to St. Louis, you have a place to hang out. If you’re a club member of ours, if you go to Kansas City, you go to a place to hang out.

“Our main goal is to turn it into a regular franchise location where people can come and enjoy marijuana and know it’s safe.”

The state does not regulate cannabis lounges and consumption sites, leaving that up to cities and counties. Treehouse Lounge operates outside the city limits of Nixa, in Christian County.

“It was a struggle to find the right place,” said Treehouse Lounge co-owner AJ Chamberlain. “We worked for two years trying to find a place that worked for us, the local municipalities and things like that.”

Cities are considering legislation

St. Louis is in the midst of discussions about allowing cannabis cafes in the city. The cafes serve a similar function to a salon, with the only difference being that the cafes can prepare and serve food infused with cannabis.

St. Louis Councilman Rasheen Aldridge is working on two marijuana ordinances. One, Board Bill 15, would expand the hours of operation for city marijuana dispensaries. The other would allow marijuana cafes to operate in the city.

Aldridge hopes both bills will be passed by the end of the city’s legislative session in April 2025.

He said the marijuana cafe ordinance was inspired by similar concepts used in states like Colorado and California, and added that marijuana revenues could benefit local municipalities.

“St. Louis and Missouri, I would say we’re slow to change in our midst,” Aldridge said. “So we’re trying to catch up and we’re also trying to see different ways we can bring in tourism but also do something new and innovative in the city.”

The membership model is popular

Mary Jane’s Place in Ashland opened in April. Owners Valorie Frost and Chip Swarzentruber met with city officials to discuss plans for the business and seek approval.

The membership model is common among private marijuana establishments; both Mary Jane’s Place and The Treehouse Lounge offer memberships for access. Both establishments offer daily, monthly, and annual memberships.

At The Treehouse Lounge, day passes are $15, weekly passes are $35, and annual passes are $420. At Mary Jane’s Place, day passes are $5, weekly passes are $20, monthly passes are $50, and annual passes are $210.

“We call ourselves a kind of gym membership for marijuana lovers,” Chamberlain said, “where you can come in and pay for a daily or annual pass and try out all the equipment and try out a bunch of different things that you might not be ready for yet.”

Frost said locals typically buy annual memberships, while customers who buy weekly memberships are traveling workers. Daily memberships can be a good option for those who may be curious about the business.

“The day membership basically covers the entire day and you can be there until and it lets you know if you want to buy a membership and it lets you get a feel for the place, when it’s the busiest, when it’s the slowest…” Frost said. “So depending on how long they’re in town, that plays into their membership.”

“They will be everywhere”

Salons try to attract customers by offering them unique offers and environments.

Treehouse Lounge allows local cannabis brands and dispensaries to donate their products and showcase them at their facility, as well as hosting educational events to educate consumers about cannabis.

“One of the things we do that’s really cool is we do educational activities with a real, certified nurse who comes in,” Bingham said.

Mary Jane’s Place also strives to offer customers different zones.

“We have a tobacco shop, a park, a back porch,” Frost said. “We have an event space, a bong rental place (and) a sports room. We serve little freeze-dried candies and things like that. It’s a really good environment to just chill.”

Frost said the arrival of cannabis lounges in the state could herald a much larger influx of this group in the future.

“It’s basically the wild, wild west of the Midwest. We’re the pioneers,” Frost said. “So I think you’ll see more of these places, just like bars. Give them five years or so, but they’ll be everywhere.”

This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alertteammate KC Media Collective.