Cannabis Oversight Under Scrutiny as Missouri Auditor Delves into Regulatory Transparency
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick (R) has initiated an investigation targeting the state’s cannabis program, vowing to evaluate whether regulators are operating “efficiently, accountably, and transparently.”
This audit stands out as an exceptional and unscheduled review. Fitzpatrick launched this inquiry following his campaign promise last year to scrutinize how Missouri manages legalized cannabis.
Encompassing both medical and recreational programs, the audit stretches back to the inception of Missouri’s medical cannabis approval by voters in 2018. Beginning on August 2, auditors working on Fitzpatrick’s behalf held their first meeting with officials at the Department of Health and Senior Services.
While no formal announcement of the inquiry’s commencement was made, Fitzpatrick’s official website includes the marijuana program on a roster of ongoing audits.
Fitzpatrick, a Shell Knob Republican in his first term, elaborated via email to The Independent that the audit was prompted by cannabis‘ projected trajectory into a $1 billion industry in Missouri. He emphasized that the amendments legalizing cannabis “constitute some of the most significant modifications we’ve encountered within our state constitution recently.
He noted, “These provisions now comprise over one-fifth of the verbiage in our state constitution.”
Fitzpatrick further articulated, “The regulations and directives established for these programs oversee numerous marijuana establishments throughout Missouri, catering cannabis products to hundreds of thousands of Missourians annually.
Lisa Cox, spokesperson for DHSS, confirmed that the agency had received notification of its involvement in an audit of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, coordinated with the state auditor’s office.
The auditor’s involvement marks another attempt to uncover the inner workings of a program that has attracted attention from state legislators and federal law enforcement.
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State Representative Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat known for critiquing Missouri’s marijuana regulators, commended the auditor’s inquiry. He asserted that more transparency is needed within the marijuana industry, especially concerning licensing processes.
