Best of KC 2025: Jimi Poe becomes the owner of the state’s first microbusiness dispensary
Photo Courtesy of Jimi Poe
Earlier this month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can take a peek at the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some local people, places, and things that we thought clearly won 2025. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November.
Over the summer, Platte City granted a warm welcome to a new neighbor, 816 Dispensary—the first microbusiness dispensary to open in the state. When Missourians voted for legal cannabis in the state, lawmakers paved a way for disadvantaged individuals to own a business in the industry. As a result, the social equity cannabis microbusiness program was established.
In order to be eligible for a microbusiness license, applicants must meet one of the five following criteria: have a net worth under $250,000; have disabled veteran status; have been convicted of a nonviolent marijuana felony; reside in a low-income zip code; or have graduated from an unaccredited school.
816 Dispensary Owner Jimi Poe qualifies due to a nonviolent marijuana conviction that he received in 2007. What had previously haunted his reputation now serves as the sole reason why he was able to start the business in the first place. And while he was shy to make his felony known previously, he now has it hanging within the walls of 816 Dispensary for all visitors to see.
After opening in June, 816 Dispensary is still working on getting up to speed, currently only holding a few different strains of flower and pre-rolls from three microbusiness wholesalers in the state. But Poe says this will soon change. By the time this magazine hits stands, he is hopeful that his shop will be stocked with edibles and vape cartridges now that the wholesalers have had more time to settle into the work.
The opening of 816 Dispensary shows that this microbusiness program can at least get a licensee to the finish line. Whether or not the small niche within the cannabis industry can be prosperous or not will be known once more microbusinesses reach commencement and have time to make waves in the market. Until then, Poe is deserving of a pat on the back, given the fact that 34 of the 96 awarded licenses have been revoked since the program’s emergence.
Click below to read the November Best Of 2025 Issue of The Pitch Magazine:
