CFIG Cannabis Clips Week of Friday, January 30

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CRB Monitor Securities Update | December 2025

Strategies 64: New White Paper Offers Roadmap for Ending Hemp-Marijuana Divide, Federal Regulation

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Cultivated Daily (1/29): Missouri Cracks Down on Out-of-State Cannabis Clones

Regulators in Missouri fined at least seven cultivators last year for violating the state’s so-called “immaculate conception” rule, which makes it illegal to receive cannabis clones from another state.

What they’re saying: “[Regulators] discovered some licensees believed they were permitted to bring in clones or tissue cultures as well as seeds on an ongoing basis. However, this practice is a violation of seed-to-sale tracking regulations,” a spokesperson from the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation told the Missouri Independent.

Zoom out: Importing clones is a popular method for new cultivators, especially in new markets where there are far fewer options to buy from existing producers. Often, states will allow for a sort-of grace period in order to better facilitate a market launch.

Last July, one of Kentucky’s first medical cultivators, Armory Kentucky, brought in thousands of adult plants from another state. The move appeared to be allowed by the state, though the company and state regulators refused to tell Louisville Public Media where the plants came from.

Missouri did the same when it launched recreational cannabis sales, but cultivators only had one year in which they would import without facing regulator scrutiny.

A known industry secret: Rumors have persisted about illicit clone imports for as long as there have been legal markets in the United States. Back in 2022, Glass House Brands President Graham Farrar and Greg Huffaker from Canna Advisors both shared stories with Supply Chain Dive about others importing clones.

A letter from the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2021 confirmed that the federal government would allow cannabis seeds and clones to be transported across state lines, but only if they contain less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the active cannabis compound. Despite this, states often uphold the restriction as part of their track-and-trace requirements.

Of course, this could all change if the hemp ban goes into effect this November.

In response to the DEA’s letter, Colorado regulators released a memo in 2022 stating that it was unlawful to send or receive seeds or clones over state lines because they have to be tracked in the state’s seed-to-sale system and transfers are only permitted between two operators licensed in the state.

Aside from federal restrictions on transporting cannabis, illicit imports also carry contamination risks. Importing clones from the west coast reportedly led to the spread of hop latent viroid into Massachusetts back in 2023.

–ZH