{"id":8734,"date":"2026-02-18T14:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T14:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:57:15","slug":"audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/","title":{"rendered":"Audit finds flawed scoring cast \u2018shadow\u2019 over Missouri medical marijuana licensing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-1.36.35-PM-e1771443461210-1024x615.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Shell Knob (photo submitted). <\/p>\n<p><span>Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/auditor.mo.gov\/AuditReport\/ViewReport?report=2026014&amp;token=5458769375\" target=\"_blank\"><span>scathing report<\/span><\/a><span> Wednesday on the state\u2019s marijuana program, concluding that missteps in the 2019 licensing process triggered costly litigation and raised persistent questions about whether licenses were awarded fairly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The nearly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2023\/08\/15\/state-auditor-launches-inquiry-into-missouri-marijuana-program\/\"><span>three-year audit<\/span><\/a><span> of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation alleges \u201cperceived and actual deficiencies\u201d in the application scoring process contributed to more than $12.5 million in costs associated with litigation and administrative appeals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It also raised concerns about the \u201cblind scoring\u201d system used to determine who received lucrative medical marijuana licenses, saying weaknesses in the process make it difficult to verify whether inconsistent results stemmed from error or bias.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt was a monumental task, and I know it was not easy,\u201d Fitzpatrick said in a press release Wednesday, \u201cbut at the same time it\u2019s clear there were some significant issues with how license applications were evaluated and scored that cast a shadow over the program and ultimately cost the state millions of dollars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In an equally scathing 23-page response, the division defended its 2019 scoring system and panned Fitzpatrick\u2019s criticisms as \u201cbaseless\u201d and \u201cflawed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The agency noted Fitzpatrick\u2019s team only reviewed 67 of the applications, or 3%, arguing that is too small of a sample to make an overarching claim about the legitimacy of the system.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"halfwidth\">\n<div class=\"tipContainer\">\n<div class=\"tipTextContainer\">\n<h4>Need to get in touch?<\/h4>\n<h4>Have a news tip?<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tipIconContainer\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"mailto:info@missouriindependent.com\"><button>CONTACT US<\/button><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>In 2019, more than 2,000 applications were submitted and ultimately 348 licenses were granted \u2014 192 dispensary, 86 manufacturing, 60 cultivation and 10 testing facility licenses. Applicants who were denied licenses could appeal the decision by filing a complaint with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Nearly 850 appealed, citing concerns related to inconsistent scoring, conflicts of interest within the contracted scoring company, the division\u2019s authority to limit licenses and other issues, the audit states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The audit also criticized the division for slowly processing requests to transfer ownership of a license and awarding social-equity licenses to applicants who didn\u2019t meet the requirements outlined in the constitution. It recommends that the division improve its procedures for oversight and monitoring of licensed marijuana facilities, as well as the overall market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division was also accused of being \u201cuncooperative\u201d throughout the audit, with Fitzpatrick expressing surprise at the \u201cadversarial tone the department took with our audit team and the repeated attempts agency officials made to undermine the legitimacy of this report.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Amy Moore, the division director, said this is the first time she has heard the auditor felt that way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In an interview with The Independent, Moore said the division completed 160 requests for information and had more than 70 staff members working \u201cthousands of hours\u201d to assist in the audit, including interviews and hosting site visits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe were not aware at any point that this level of cooperation was considered insufficient,\u201d she said, adding that she would have addressed it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Moore said despite all the work her team put in, they feel the report has \u201csignificant errors and misunderstandings.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe will absolutely take what is beneficial and constructive from this,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will continue to make improvements, as we always have, and I think we\u2019re ready to close the book on this and move forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>    <\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">Licenses<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>When the division was working in 2019 to build the framework of the state\u2019s now multi-billion dollar industry, it used a competitive bidding process, the audit states, to award the license application scoring contract to Nevada-based company Wise Health Solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division allowed applicants to create their own <\/span><span>unique identifier, the report states, that they included on supporting documents. For example, the company BBMO 3 LLC used the identifying number BBMO0003, while the group Nirvana Bliss III\u2019s identifier was NIRV0003.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fitzpatrick argues the division should not have permitted these identifiers because \u201c<\/span><span>graders or reviewers familiar with the applicant could potentially deduce the applicant\u2019s identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Of the 67 facility license applications reviewed by the auditor\u2019s office, 12 applications, or 18%, included identifiers that the auditor\u2019s office felt could be recognizable. Of those, 83% were granted licenses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s compared to the rate of 15% for the overall population of applications, meaning applicants who chose potentially recognizable identifiers were almost six times more likely to get a license than those who didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27467\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Amy-Moore-micro-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1889\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Amy Moore, director of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation, speaks with a microbusiness owner at the National Cannabis Industry Association\u2019s summit in St. Louis in 2024 (Rebecca Rivas\/Missouri Independent).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat was meant to be a blind scoring process was able to be circumvented by applicants who provided indications of their identity throughout their applications,\u201d Fitzpatrick said, \u201cand the numbers show applicants who did that won licenses at a greatly increased rate compared to those who followed the rules and remained anonymous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division pushed back in its response, saying scorers only graded one or two questions of an application to ensure that no grader would have undue influence over any application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cDue to the small sample size and lack of evidence to the contrary,\u201d the division\u2019s response states, \u201cit is speculation that these applicants received licenses at this rate because of their (identifier) and not due to the merit of their responses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division argued allowing applicants to provide their own identifier saved regulators from having to create a number and include it on documents manually. They also argued the risk of having graders identify applicants was \u201csmall.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cManually adding an anonymous identifier to hundreds of thousands of documents presented logistical challenges and created new risks,\u201d the division said, \u201csuch as errors or perceptions of agency manipulation of applicant responses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Moore said that over five years of extensive litigation through the administrative appeals, there\u2019s never been any evidence that a grader knew the identity of an applicant. And fewer than 1% of challenges, she said, have been successful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat has been examined thoroughly,\u201d Moore said. \u201cAnd on the contrary, we have numerous decisions and we can now know without a doubt that the scoring system was implemented in a way that protected anonymity, it provided impartiality and resulted in highly consistent scoring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But in a system where small differences in scores made a big difference, Fitzpatrick said, even minor inconsistencies could determine who walked away with a lucrative license and who didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cGenerally speaking, the scoring was tight,\u201d Fitzpatrick told The Independent Wednesday. \u201cA slight shift in score one way or the other could have resulted in a license being granted or not being granted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s impossible to say whether the scorers used the information \u201cnefariously,\u201d Fitzpatrick said, \u201cbut we also can\u2019t say that they didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s, I think, the concern that should be taken from that. It created a huge risk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Adding to the confusion, the audit found, was the fact that scorers were instructed by Wise Health Solutions to take limited notes while scoring applications to reduce the records available in the event of lawsuits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The auditor\u2019s accusation unearths a line of questioning that lawmakers on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/27176651-doc-prod-and-related-matter-memo-scogo\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span>Missouri House legislative oversight committee <\/span><\/a><span>began in 2020 regarding potential conflict of interests between marijuana industry leaders and leaders of Wise Health Solutions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lawmakers were, in part, investigating whether groups behind Wise Health Solutions were acting as consultants for applicants that the company eventually ended up scoring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The committee\u2019s inquiry was cut short by the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>    <\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">Inconsistent scores<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>The audit\u2019s review of the 67 applications found identical answers were often given different scores.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It identified 59 instances involving 14 of the 67 applications reviewed, or 21%, in which two applicants submitted identical, nearly identical or substantially similar responses and the grader assigned different scores. The audit also identified 38 applications (57%) in which at least one response that met the minimum criteria of the evaluation question was assigned a score of zero.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division provided a number of appeal case decisions where the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission weighed in on the issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In one case, a scorer gave 764 applicants, or 63%, a score of zero for one question. Commissioner Philip Prewitt stated in his 2022 decision of the Missouri Delta Cannabis Company LLC\u2019s appeal that the scoring \u201cthough harsh, was not inconsistent.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cFor us to review the responses and put our own valuation on them would make the scoring not follow the impartiality and consistency that the regulations call for,\u201d Prewitt stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division argued that in \u201cyears of litigation,\u201d the commission has reviewed analysis by experts, including University of Missouri professor Wes Bonifay, an expert in measurement theory. Bonifay reviewed answers to all the application questions and found they had a 98% average consistency, which he called \u201cvery reliable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Commissioners found Bonifay\u2019s analysis \u201creliable and useful,\u201d in at least one <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/27177670-state-line-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span>appeal decision<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The audit notes the division improved its processes throughout the audit period, but many licensees were allowed to operate without required inspections. And when regulators \u201cdid perform inspections, passing grades were sometimes given without the licensee proving compliance.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fitzpatrick found the division performed minimal inventory inspections to ensure cannabis was not being diverted into the black market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Other findings in the report include the division failing to process business change requests timely or to adequately track the progress of the requests and officials approving microbusiness licenses that were not compliant with constitutional requirements and state regulation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It also concludes the statewide track and trace system, Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting &amp; Compliance (Metrc), does not currently have the capability to identify purchases over the legal transaction quantity limits in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division pushed back on all these claims, even stating some were \u201cegregiously inaccurate.\u201d Regulators argued all licensees must go through rigorous inspection to begin operating, and ongoing inspections may look different than other industries because they could be in person or a review of Metrc records.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The division argued the auditor\u2019s team \u201chas not understood basic concepts\u201d of marijuana regulations and licensing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe (State Auditor\u2019s Office) has failed to obtain the proper expertise,\u201d it wrote, \u201cto legitimately review DHSS\u2019 performance in cannabis regulation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick praised his team\u2019s efforts digging into a program that<span> makes up 20% of the state\u2019s constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHopefully parts of the report could be a benefit to the department in the immediate future,\u201d he told The Independent, \u201cand hopefully other parts of it can be a benefit to other state agencies down the road, if they have to go through a similar process that DHSS went through with the cannabis programs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Shell Knob (photo submitted). Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a scathing report Wednesday on the state\u2019s marijuana program, concluding that missteps in the 2019 licensing process triggered costly litigation and raised persistent questions about whether licenses were awarded fairly. The nearly three-year audit of the Missouri&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Audit finds flawed scoring cast \u2018shadow\u2019 over Missouri medical marijuana licensing - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Audit finds flawed scoring cast \u2018shadow\u2019 over Missouri medical marijuana licensing - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Shell Knob (photo submitted). 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Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a scathing report Wednesday on the state\u2019s marijuana program, concluding that missteps in the 2019 licensing process triggered costly litigation and raised persistent questions about whether licenses were awarded fairly. The nearly three-year audit of the Missouri...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-02-18T20:57:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-1.36.35-PM-e1771443461210-1024x615.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"Audit finds flawed scoring cast \u2018shadow\u2019 over Missouri medical marijuana licensing","datePublished":"2026-02-18T20:57:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/"},"wordCount":1735,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-1.36.35-PM-e1771443461210-1024x615-25GtYt.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/audit-finds-flawed-scoring-cast-shadow-over-missouri-medical-marijuana-licensing\/","name":"Audit finds flawed scoring cast \u2018shadow\u2019 over Missouri medical marijuana licensing - 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