Cost to enforce ban on intoxicating hemp products in Missouri estimated at nearly $900K

While a large part of Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on intoxicating hemp products may be on pause, plans are underway to kick it back up next summer, according to a preliminary budget request by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The department has asked for $877,000 to fund “food inspection and litigation requirements” to implement Parson’s Aug. 1 executive order to ban unregulated psychoactive products. 

Those funds would become available on July 1, if lawmakers approve the request as part of the state budget by May. 

Parson’s executive order “prohibits the sale of foods containing psychoactive cannabis compounds in Missouri, unless originating from an ‘approved source,’” the budget request states.  

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