Governor Mike Parson is making it known his displeasure with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft after he refused to sign an executive order that would prevent the sale of unregulated cannabis products.
Governor Parson had put forth the order, saying it was written to protect Missouri children from the “harmful” products.
In a release Thursday, the governor said, “Without question, our office and hundreds of thousands of parents and grandparents across the state view the matter of protecting Missouri children as an emergency in need of immediate action. By refusing to grant emergency rules to ban the sale of unregulated psychoactive cannabis products, especially to children, Secretary Ashcroft is choosing personal vendetta and unregulated, dangerous products over the health and safety of Missouri kids.”
State officials say since 2018, the number of hospitalizations for cannabis poisoning among Missouri children has risen 600 percent.
The executive order was set to take effect on September 1, but must now go through the ATC rulemaking process, which could delay it another six to eight months.