Dispensary Owes Pot Tax to Just One Taxing Authority, Court Says

Missouri’s constitution permits counties to collect cannabis tax from marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas, but not from dispensaries within municipal boundaries, a state appeallate court said Tuesday.

The state constitution was amended in 2022 to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and permitted local governments to impose a maximum 3% tax in addition to sales tax. The city of St. Joseph and Buchanan County both imposed that tax, which dispensary operator Vertical Enterprise LLC argued violated the state constitution because only one local government within a jurisdiction may do so.

The state’s high court held in July that the plain language ...