Missouri Campaign Seeks to Allow Cannabis and Hemp Product Sales at Alcohol and Tobacco Retailers

A ballot initiative filed Tuesday seeks to allow cannabis and intoxicating hemp product sales in the same stores that sell alcohol and tobacco, the Missouri Independent reports. The proposal, led by Kansas City-based hemp business American Shaman, would also repeal that state’s adult-use cannabis constitutional amendment and replace it with a new law that would also require regulations for hemp-derived THC products.    

Eapen Thampy, a hemp lobbyist, told the Independent that the new law would require state lawmakers to create regulations for cannabis and hemp products that are “no more burdensome than what we already have for alcohol and tobacco.” 

“Marijuana and hemp are one plant. They should be regulated in the same way. It should be a free, fair and regulated market.” — Thampy to the Independent  

Organized by the new political action committee Missourians for a Single Market, the effort includes four petitions that each call for removing criminal penalties for possessing too much cannabis, retaining the current tax rates on cannabis products for 10 years, and allowing businesses that sell the products to obtain licenses through a similar process as alcohol and tobacco sellers.   

Tim Gilio, founder of the Missouri Marijuana Legalization Movement, told the Independent that his organization’s “position is that marijuana legalization has always been not about getting ‘high’ but to end prohibition against one of the most beneficial plants on earth.” 

“Our goal is to open up a free and open market to all,” he said, “and prevent a monopoly from encroaching on any benefits of the cannabis plant.” 

The group must get enough signatures by May to put the issue to voters in November 2026.