Missouri medical marijuana licenses in high demand

(AP) Missouri plans to license more than 300 medical marijuana-related businesses this year, and if that’s not enough, the program director says more will be approved.

Missouri medical marijuana program director Lyndall Fraker told the hundreds of people attending a St. Louis conference Monday that the state will do what’s necessary to meet patient demand.

Many of those at the conference are among the 450 potential licensees who have already applied to grow, manufacture, dispense or test medical marijuana.

Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana and marijuana-infused products for patients who suffer from serious illnesses. Missouri is now among 33 states approving medical marijuana.

Missouri plans at the minimum 192 dispensaries, 60 cultivation facilities, 86 manufacturing facilities and two testing facilities.