DHSS selects marijuana leader to succeed Marshfield’s Fraker

Courtesy Amy Moore LinkedIn

Amy Moore is promoted to lead the Division of Cannabis Regulation.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced a new director for its marijuana oversight division.

Amy Moore was named director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, which previously was known as the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation, according to a news release. She succeeds Lyndall Fraker, a Marshfield resident who moved to director of public outreach for the division late last year.

Moore has been with the department for four years and most recently worked as deputy director and counsel for the Division of Cannabis Regulation.

“Amy has helped lead this to be the well-regulated and successful program that voters approved years ago, and we trust that her highly regarded levels of leadership, wisdom and expertise will smoothly guide our department and Missourians through this next phase of program growth,” said Paula Nickelson, acting director of the DHSS, in the release. “No other is more familiar with how cannabis has been and will continue to be regulated in Missouri. Amy will continue to effectively uphold the Constitution and the will of Missouri voters.”

Moore is tasked with overseeing the newly legalized recreational marijuana program in Missouri, as well as the medical cannabis program that's been in place since 2018.

In her previous department role, she directed development and administration of the regulatory program and helped grow the framework for a new industry that has grown to serve some 200,000 qualified patients, license over 370 facilities and generate more than $640 million in sales, according to the release.

The recreational market officially launched Feb. 3. Recreational sales statewide during the first weekend totaled roughly $8.5 million, according to the DHSS.

Voters gave the green light to recreational marijuana legalization during the Nov. 8, 2022, election via Amendment 3. The amendment changed the state constitution, legalizing the purchase, possession, consumption, delivery, sale and manufacturing of marijuana for adults 21 and older for personal use, according to past reporting.