KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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Missouri’s first micro-dispensary held its grand opening Saturday. 816 Dispensary planned its ribbon cutting to align with 816 Day, when the date and the city’s area code match.
Missouri launched recreational adult-use marijuana sales in February 2023 at comprehensive dispensaries. That same year, the state awarded microlicenses.
These licenses are part of a social equity program to help disenfranchised business owners enter the cannabis industry.
To qualify for a microlicense, owners have to meet certain criteria, like having a previous marijuana-related conviction, having graduated from an unaccredited high school, or having a low net worth.
Jimi Poe spent more than one year in prison after a 2006 conviction for selling marijuana. That qualified him for the microlicense.
“I promised I’ll never sell marijuana again,” Poe described his conversation at the time. “Here we are 19 years later, and I’m seeing cannabis to the public legally. It’s definitely crazy.”
In 2024, Poe gave KSHB 41 News a tour of the property he leased for 816 Dispensary at 2701 Running Horse Road in Platte City.
He couldn’t open right away because microdispensaries can only sell cannabis grown by a microcultivator.
“They operate in their own distinct ecosystem,” said Andrew Mullins, executive director of the industry group MoCannTrade.
Industry experts compare microdispensaries to microbreweries. Consumers should notice a more handcrafted approach to the product.
“I really feel like the quality of the product is going to be really good and it’s going to blow up the Missouri cannabis industry,” Poe predicted.
Poe’s niece, Shannon Purcel, painted a mural on the wall inside the dispensary.
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