Richard Gunnells was once skeptical of marijuana and believed it should never be legalized for medical purposes.
Gunnels is a small-town row crop farmer in Missouri, and some of the land he now grows has been farmed by his family in Macon County for over 120 years. He grew up on the farm that has been farmed by his family for generations.
It was my uncle in Florida who changed my mind about medical cannabis. His uncle suffered from tremors and showed Gunnells how medical marijuana could help his condition.Now a Missouri farmer oversees a medical marijuana operation on the Macon industrial estate. doing.
“I’m always trying to help people and do something to make their lives better,” Gunnells said. “And this really aligns with what I want to do in agriculture and really suits my interests.”
Missouri’s medical marijuana economy surpassed $400 million in July of this year. The total dates back to the state’s first sale in October 2020. The industry has averaged about $30 million in sales each month since November 2021, said Lyndall Fraker, director of medical marijuana regulation for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
According to Mark Hendren, president of Flora Farms, a company called Flora Farms will set up a grow facility in Humansville because of its regulations. About 150 full-time employees work at the Group’s facilities in 907 towns.
“The impact on that community is dramatic,” Hendren said.
Suddenly, Berry had three or four potential companies looking for sites on Vandalia. One of his companies was 1913 Holdings, which eventually rented out his 35,000-square-foot empty building in the city. The company recently purchased space and also has growing facilities in Carrollton and Waynesville.
The Vandalia facility employs 45 full-time workers. Berry has seen employees frequent local restaurants and convenience stores for lunch as they pass through town.
Cultivation is done indoors, as more crops can be harvested each year. The facility pays Vandalia about $45,000 a month in utilities, Berry said, but the facility is not yet operational. For water only, usage is about 10,000 gallons daily.
“It’s additional revenue for a city that wasn’t there,” Berry said.
In 1913, when Vandalia was trying to make room for a building, medical marijuana was new and taboo for a small town with an aging population. The city held several public meetings for companies to introduce themselves.
Businesses marketed their businesses and profits to local communities, and public officials heard comments from residents. According to his comments, some residents were skeptical of the next industry, but in 1913 he received many letters of support from local businesses and organizations.
“It changed my perception of marijuana,” Berry said. “I think it created a lot of excitement. The medical marijuana field did.”
State-licensed grow facilities have the capacity to grow enough medical marijuana for at least 300,000 patients based on the square footage of all facilities, Fraker said. The state has approximately 188,000 registered patients.
Flora Farms has the capacity to grow over 2,000 pounds of marijuana each month. But there isn’t enough demand for that level of production, Hendren said. At Macon, Agri-Genesis is in the early stages of expansion, said Sean Carriger, president of the company.
Many in the medical cannabis industry hope Missouri voters will pass a recreational cannabis ballot measure in November. If that happens, Missouri’s marijuana industry is expected to grow rapidly.
“The impact it will have on both our company and our industry cannot be overstated,” said Carriger.
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