Judge tosses lawsuit filed by rejected marijuana cultivator

Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce on Monday tossed out a lawsuit filed by a rejected medical marijuana cultivator.

The Callicoats, a family from Sarcoxie, sued the state earlier this year after their license to open a cultivation facility was denied. In the litigation, the family alleges the state's 60-license limit on cultivation facilities violates their "right to farm," a clause in the Missouri constitution added in 2014.

Joyce said in her decision yesterday that the amendment approving medical marijuana in Missouri “expressly contemplates licensing limitations and authorizes the (Missouri Department of Health and Human Services) to implement such limits, if it so chooses.”

Dr. Paul Callicoat, a retired cardiologist and principal of Sarcoxie Nursery, said he plans to appeal the decision.

Read more from the Missouri Independent.