Recent News

For Immediate Release
Jan. 3, 2024

Media Contact:
Lisa Cox
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Article XIV, Section 2, of the Missouri Constitution required the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to appoint a chief equity officer within the Division of Cannabis Regulation. Abigail Vivas began employment with the Department on Feb. 1, 2023, as the Division’s first chief equity officer. Vivas oversees the Division’s Office of Business Opportunity and is charged with the development and implementation of programs to inform the public of the opportunities available to those people who meet the criteria for a cannabis microbusiness license. The chief equity officer is an integral part of ensuring the social and economic equity requirements of Article XIV Section 2 are fully realized.

Per Article XIV, the chief equity officer is to provide a report to the Department, no later than Jan. 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, of their and the Department's activities in ensuring compliance with the applicant criteria set forth in Article XIV, Section 2.4(12), and the Department shall provide the report to the legislature. The Chief Equity Officer Activity Report 2023 was provided to the Department on Dec. 26, 2023, and the full report is available at Cannabis.Mo.Gov. The report details the Department’s implementation of the microbusiness license program including outreach efforts, application resources, aggregate applicant data and plans for future microbusiness rounds. 

The Department will issue a minimum of 96 additional microbusiness licenses in two separate lotteries conducted by the Missouri Lottery. Applications for the second of three total rounds are tentatively scheduled to begin in March with licenses to be issued in July of this year.

For more information about microbusiness licensing and application requirements, visit Cannabis.Mo.Gov.