Only hours after MoCannTrade members walked the halls of the Missouri State Capitol advocating for the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act (ICCA), the House Rules Committee voted 8-1 to approve the house version of the legislation Tuesday afternoon. With legislative spring break starting later today, both the house and senate versions of the ICCA, SB 54 & HB 593, have been approved in committee and are now ready for floor debate in each legislative chamber.
Meanwhile this morning, HB393, a bill opposed by MoCannTrade that would largely legalize these intoxicating products everywhere, was voted down by the House General Laws Committee.
A big thank you to the hundreds of MoCann members, owners and leaders that converged on our capitol and the many industry members who walked the halls and met with legislators during our annual lobby day. There is simply no substitute for regulated cannabis small business owners and stakeholders educating lawmakers firsthand about the successes and challenges of Missouri’s nearly 5-year-old marijuana industry.
We realize and appreciate how busy so many of you are right now. The fact that you would take valuable time to attend this annual event to ensure the continued success of the entire industry shows exactly why Missouri is overperforming so many programs in other states. It’s the MoCann way.
All Hemp-Related Bills Filed In Missouri and Where Are They in the Legislative Process
Here are the 9 hemp-related bills MoCann is either supporting, opposing or monitoring and their status:
- ICCA Senate Bill SB 54 (Support) Sen. Schroer - Passed out of Families, Seniors and Health Committee 5-1, on the Senate Perfection Calendar and could be debated on Senate floor any day following spring break.
- ICCA House Bill HB 593 (Support) Rep. Perkins - Passed out of Crime & Public Safety Committee 12-5. Passed by the House Rules Committee 8-1 and now awaiting debate on the House floor after spring break.
- House Bill HB 696 (Oppose) Rep. Baker - Heard in General Laws, committee vote failed 1-12, full hemp program originally with $100M annual operating costs / fiscal note, amended language voted on pulled out nearly all regulatory oversight
- House Bill HB 393 (Oppose) Rep Hinman - Heard in General Laws, committee vote failed 5-7, $20M annual fiscal note or cost to taxpayers to create a duplicate program of regulation
- House Bill HB 463 Rep. Hovis - no hearings scheduled, not currently moving
- Senate Bill SB 518 (Oppose) Sen. Trent - Assigned to Families, Seniors and Health committee. Another full program approach, fiscal note forthcoming but should be similar to HB 696 est $20M+ annual
- House Bill HB1328 Rep Allen - no hearings scheduled, not currently moving
- Senate Bill SB697 Sen. Henderson- no hearings scheduled, not currently moving
- Senate Bill SB641 Sen. May - no hearings scheduled, not currently moving
Cannabis Industry Stakeholders Call To Action:
Email Your Lawmakers and Leadership Next Week
For those that were unable to attend our lobby day, the next best thing is to email your lawmakers and legislative leadership and the time to do this is over the next week. All 197 legislators return to their districts later today and will be on legislative spring break next week. One thing we know legislators check often while away from Jefferson City is their email. So please send legislators an email about the importance of passing the ICCA. A copy of the ICCA Explainer and talking points can be found below.
Just as importantly as the legislative support and momentum the ICCA bills have received, is the lack of support for legislation backed by our opponents. These bills would create a duplicative, parallel system of weak regulation that would cost Missouri taxpayers tens of millions to operate each year and without the health and safety protections, tax revenue or economic impact of the legal cannabis industry. These bills stand in stark contrast to the ICCA, which is both the most efficient and effective way to combat Missouri's unsafe, unreasonable and unregulated cannabis problem.
Let Your Voice Be Heard!!!
Email Your Legislators In Support Of ICCA HB593 and SB54.
When talking with Legislators, please articulate the following talking points in asking for their support of SB 54 and HB 593 (ICCA)
- If it comes from the cannabis plant and it’s intoxicating, it’s marijuana and Missouri law and regulation should treat it as such. On the other hand, if it comes from the cannabis plant and it’s intoxicating, it’s hemp, and this legislation won’t impact hemp at all.
- The congressional record is crystal clear, Congress never intended to legalize psychoactive, intoxicating cannabis when they passed the 2018 Farm Bill. Law enforcement believes passing the ICCA is the most effective and efficient way to put the genie back in the bottle.
- Protecting Public Safety: The ICCA ensures all intoxicating cannabinoid products, like Delta-8 THC, are properly regulated to prevent harm to Missourians, especially children. It mandates third-party lab testing, child-resistant packaging, and oversight to prevent unregulated and potentially dangerous products from entering the market.
- Economic Benefits for Missouri: By requiring cultivation, manufacturing, and sales to take place within Missouri, the ICCA supports local businesses and tax revenues. Unlike current unregulated products, which are often imported from overseas, ICCA ensures economic benefits stay within the state.
- Efficient Governance: Integrating intoxicating cannabinoid products into Missouri’s existing marijuana regulatory framework eliminates the need for an expensive and duplicative system, saving taxpayers tens of millions annually.
- Common-Sense Regulation: Treating intoxicating cannabinoid products like marijuana ensures consistency, proper labeling, and prevents sales to minors, aligning with Missouri voters’ expectations for a highly regulated cannabis market.
- Addressing Misinformation: Contrary to myths, regulating these products will not harm local jobs or businesses. Most unregulated products are made outside of Missouri, and this legislation ensures a level playing field for the state’s licensed cannabis industry.
- Low Dose, Naturally Derived THC Hemp Beverage Carve Out: Both bills also now include a compromise carve-out for low-dose hemp beverages sold at regulated retailers outside of licensed dispensaries that was instrumental in gaining more broad support and advancing the legislation in both chambers.
Our ask of them is to keep government small, not raise taxes and support the most common-sense solution for regulating these products ... the ICCA. Please reach out and ask if you can Count On Their Support?
Here is the entire General Assembly Roster online for reference. Or you can do your Legislator look-up via the below links:
How The ICCA Bills Become Law:
Many of you have asked what route these bills would need to take during the second half of the legislative session to reach the finish line. To pass the Missouri Senate, SB 54 would need to be perfected, which is where amendments or senate substitutes can be offered, followed by a second vote by the entire senate, which is called Third Reading. The bill would then receive a hearing in a house committee and if passed go to one of the Rules Committees. If approved by the Rules Committee, the legislation would move to the House of Representatives bill calendar for a Third Reading, where amendments could be offered.
If the version Third Read by the house was exactly the same as Third Read in the senate, the bill is Truly Agreed and Finally Passed and would be sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe for his signature. If the versions differed, the senate could vote to approve the house version, which would be sent to the governor, or vote to the send to the bill to a conference committee. A conference committee consists of members from both the house and senate where differences can be ironed out. In this scenario, the senate and then the house would need to approve the new conference committee version before sending it to Gov. Kehoe for approval.
For HB 593 to pass, it would need to follow this same route, except starting in the house instead of senate and working its way to the other chamber.
Thank you to our members and regulated industry stakeholders for your efforts and support. Please reach out to Missouri legislators by email over the next week and let your voice be heard.
In Your Service
Executive Director - Andrew Mullins
Associate Director - Melissa Khan
Board Chair - Dena Ladd
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