By Stacy Wiedmaier
Platte City’s only licensed marijuana dispensary can now operate 24 hours a day after the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance updating the city’s regulations. The amendment removes outdated references to “medical” marijuana, lifts restrictions on hours of operation and allows licensed cannabis dispensaries to conduct multiple operations, such as retail and cultivation, provided they obtain the required state licenses.
The city code had not been updated since Missouri voters legalized recreational marijuana in November 2022.
Jimi Poe opened 816 Dispensary on Running Horse Road in June 2025. He made a presentation to the board at their recent meeting before they took a vote.
His dispensary had been required to close to the public from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. That restriction was originally adopted in 2019 when Missouri’s cannabis industry was different.
“A lot has changed since then,” he said. “We are now more than three years into adult-use cannabis legalization in Missouri. Almost 65% of Platte County voters approved recreational marijuana and Platte City voters later approved a 3% local tax on marijuana sales. So, I believe it’s reasonable to look again at an operating-hours restriction that was created before today’s adult-use market existed.”
He said he was not asking the board to reduce its standards for cannabis businesses, but instead to allow responsible, compliant dispensaries the opportunity to operate 24 hours a day.
He told the board that, if approved, his walk-in business would not be open around-the-clock, just his drive-thru window that he recently installed would be operational overnight. Customers are encouraged to order online before picking up their products at the window. Customers must be in a vehicle; they cannot walk up to the drive-thru window.
He gave the board three reasons he believes lifting the operating-hours restrictions makes sense for the city. Those reasons were:
Public safety and regulation
A licensed dispensary is one of the most controlled environments where a cannabis transaction can take place. Customers are required to provide identification and his facility has extensive video surveillance and security systems. Cannabis inventory is also tracked through the state’s system. Products are tested and regulated, plus employees must follow state requirements.
Allowing people to purchase cannabis from a licensed, secure and monitored business provides a safer alternative than forcing someone looking for cannabis after hours to seek it elsewhere outside the regulated market.
Poe said he would also be willing to work with the city on additional requirements for
overnight operation, whether that’s enhanced security, parking-lot monitoring, lighting,
restrictions on loitering, or other safeguards.
Access
Poe noted that not everyone in Platte City and the surrounding area works from 9 to 5.
“There are people working overnight shifts and travelers moving through this area at all hours,” he said. “We don’t believe someone who gets off work at midnight should necessarily have fewer opportunities to purchase a legal product from a licensed business. This isn’t about encouraging additional cannabis use. It’s about allowing adults who are already legally permitted to purchase cannabis to do so from a safe, regulated business at a time that works for them.”
Economic benefit to the city
Platte City receives a 3% tax on adult-use marijuana sales. Poe said that when a customer makes that purchase in Platte City, those tax dollars stay here. Whereas, when customers drive to another jurisdiction because businesses here are required to be closed, Platte City receives none of that local cannabis-tax revenue.
“We’re already operating here,” he said. “We’re already employing people here. We’re already serving customers here and generating tax revenue for the city. We’re asking for the opportunity to expand that economic activity while continuing to operate responsibly.”
Poe told the board that he understands why some of them may have concerns about immediately approving a permanent 24-hour operation. If that was the case, he stated he was “very open to discussing a pilot program” where the city could authorize a 24-hour operation for a limited period and then evaluate the results.
Alderman Vickie Atkins asked Poe how many business transactions took place on a typical day. Poe said he averaged 50 to 70 transactions per day Monday through Thursday and 70 or more transactions on Fridays and weekends.
Alderman Debbie Kirkpatrick inquired if any nearby cities offer around-the-clock cannabis dispensaries. Poe said both Grandview and Blue Springs allow 24-hour dispensaries, while many in the St. Louis area do too.
Aldermen Dan Laxson and Jesse Bennett questioned Platte City Police Chief Jeff Wilson about the department’s position on extending the dispensary’s operating hours and whether police had seen an increase in crime near the business. Wilson said the department had no objections after researching the issue and had not witnessed an increase in crime in the area since the dispensary opened.
City Administrator Bryan Richison noted that, in his opinion, both alcohol sales and legal cannabis dispensaries are regulated by the state and although they are different, convenience stores that sell alcohol are allowed to operate 24 hours a day.
Platte City resident Rosse Johnston told the board he believed they should keep the dispensary’s operating hours restricted. He said he has worked overnight shifts in the past, too, but people can get their marijuana during the daytime.
“One of my concerns about this is the fact it’s night and people aren’t paying attention on the roads,” he said. “We have the opportunity to see more impaired drivers. People getting their high and getting back on the street. Drivers could be half asleep. There are all types of issues I could see being the result of changing these hours. I don’t really see a need for it to be an overnight, 24-hour business.”
Poe, a St. Joseph native and current Smithville resident, said he currently employs 10 people. That includes his mother and brother, who serve as assistant managers. He plans to add at least three more employees before significantly expanding the dispensary’s hours.
He said that he also plans to broaden his product selection and gradually transition to 24-hour operations by first opening earlier in the morning and staying open later in the evening, with the goal of operating around the clock by the end of the year.
He installed the drive-thru, he said, because so many people requested it. The window is bullet-resistant and has a drawer to deliver products, as required by his state license.
“People don’t like getting out of their cars,” Poe said. “At least 20 customers have told me they don’t want their neighbors seeing them in the parking lot of a dispensary. That stigma still exists.”
Poe, 40, is a married father of two daughters. He owned and managed Prime Time Integrators, an IT company in Northmoor, for 10 years before opening 816 Dispensary. It was the first micro dispensary to open in the state.
A micro cannabis dispensary is a small-scale retail marijuana storefront awarded through a state-run lottery system to individuals from historically underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds. A micro dispensary facility in the state is only licensed for retail sales and cannot cultivate cannabis.
He qualified for Missouri’s lottery because he had served prison time for a previous nonviolent marijuana conviction. At age 20, Poe said he was employed but also selling marijuana on the side. A “friend” turned informant to reduce their own cannabis charges and set Poe up to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer in Johnson County, Kansas.
It was Poe’s first offense, but because he was caught with 12 pounds of marijuana, he was offered seven years of probation. Instead, he chose to serve 14 months in prison.
Poe said the prison intake process typically lasts three to six weeks and involves 23-hour lockdowns. However, he said he got lost in the system and spent 12 weeks in processing before being sent to Hutchinson, Kansas.
“They had a maximum, medium and minimum-security facility,” Poe said. “I thought I was going to the minimum-security camp, but I got put behind the wall in max. My caseworker knew I shouldn’t be there for a first-time cannabis conviction, but it took time to get me placed where I belonged in the minimum camp.”
Poe spent one year on parole after his release and later had his felony record expunged in 2016. His Kansas Department of Corrections ID card now hangs framed in the lobby of his dispensary.
“I hid my story for so long because people think differently of you,” he said.
He described selling marijuana legally today as “a full circle moment.”
