As Missourians head to the voting booth this November, they will be presented with three separate ballot initiatives for medical marijuana programs. Among these, the consensus favorite to win voter approval is Amendment 2.

Support for Amendment 2

Under the language of Amendment 2, businesses hoping to obtain licenses as cultivators, manufacturers, dispensaries, or testing facilities will have to go through a highly competitive, numerically scored application process.

Team Members Matter

For each license type, the previous experience and qualifications of the applicant’s team members is a significant component of the scored criteria.

Applicants will be scored based on their team members’ experience in a legal cannabis market. To find the required experience and submit a strong application, businesses will have to expand their talent search outside of Missouri to find cannabis industry veterans.

Additionally, each license type requires the following unique experience from team members:

Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facilities:  Agriculture, horticulture, and health care experience

Medical Marijuana-Infused Products Manufacturing Facilities:  Food and beverage manufacturing experience

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Facilities:  Health care experience

Medical Marijuana Testing Facilities:  Testing experience for toxins and/or potency in marijuana, food, or drugs along with health care experience

Following the Lead for Experience Requirements

Missouri’s decision to require such experience follows the lead of other states.

New Jersey heavily weighed experience in regulated industries such as cannabis and required a Medical Advisory Board with three licensed healthcare professionals.

In Florida, nearly 5% of possible application points are awarded solely on the basis of the qualifications of an applicant’s Medical Director.

The Solution to the Staffing Challenge

With Missouri placing such an emphasis on well-qualified team members, applicants can afford to spare no expense in developing their organizational charts. Yet, finding qualified individuals is a significant challenge for hopeful industry operators.

H2 Talent comes to the rescue by providing the deepest talent pool in the industry and the fastest growing network of both cannabis-industry veterans and outside industry experts (such as horticulturalists, agronomists, medical professionals, pharmacists, quality assurance/quality control specialists, and C-suite executives). H2 Talent provides clientele with the human resources needed to win licenses and build successful cannabis businesses.

If you are interested in applying for a medical marijuana license in Missouri, connect with H2 Talent on LinkedIn today to find out how your business can hire higher.

Yes on 2!

Read the full text of Amendment 2 here.