Rep. Matthew Overcast condemns Missouri Marijuana Trade Organizations “Hemp Hoax Report” as a corporate assault on Missouri’s legal hemp industry

Representative Matthew Overcast (R-Ava) issued a strong statement defending Missouri’s legal hemp producers following the release of a report by the Missouri Marijuana trade organization, calling it “a coordinated propaganda effort by the marijuana lobby to crush lawful federally regulated competition.”

 

“Let’s call this what it is,” said Overcast. “These marijuana businesses chose to enter a highly regulated, federally illicit, high-tax environment. That was a business decision, not a government mandate. Playing a risky game with high operating costs doesn’t entitle them to regulate their competitors out of business.”

 

Overcast emphasized that Missouri’s hemp producers and retailers are federally regulated under the 2018 Farm Bill and licensed through the USDA, not through Missouri’s marijuana program. “These are small, family-run operations—real Missouri families and farmers—who are following the law, producing compliant hemp containing less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, and helping sustain rural communities,” he said.

 

While acknowledging concerns about unregulated and synthetic products entering Missouri, Overcast drew a sharp distinction between those bad actors and legitimate hemp businesses.

 

“We absolutely need to address unsafe imports and synthetic intoxicants coming from out of state and abroad,” Overcast said. “That includes trademark-infringing, look-alike packaging that often targets minors. Those products deserve enforcement action, not the Missouri-grown, federally compliant hemp operations following the law. But that problem doesn’t justify smearing law-abiding Missouri businesses.”

Overcast also called out the hypocrisy of the same groups that have repeatedly blocked legislation to establish a clear, comprehensive framework for hemp regulation.

 

“Every year, these organizations quietly oppose bills that would provide the very consumer protections they claim to want,” Overcast said. “If they were truly concerned about safety, they’d support a transparent statewide system with age-gating, clear labeling, product testing, and retailer accountability—the tools that would actually curb unsafe synthetics and deceptive packaging—rather than waging war on Missouri’s lawful hemp producers.”

 

The Representative accused the marijuana trade organization of using consumer-safety rhetoric to mask anti-competitive motives.

 

“This isn’t about protecting consumers; it’s about protecting market share,” he said. “Federally licensed hemp businesses can sell products at lower cost and lower tax rates, which means they’re outselling dispensaries in many product categories. Rather than compete on price, quality, and innovation, the marijuana lobby wants to change the rules and destroy the competition.”

 

He continued, pointing to how the system was built to benefit out-of-state interests from the start.

 

“These out-of-state marijuana license holders and their affiliates sold out Missouri farmers and small businesses,” Overcast said. “They helped ‘advise’ on how to set up the current regulatory framework through their constitutional amendment and offered proposed rules to the department in the early days after passage, rigging the system for insiders and out-of-state corporations, shutting out hard-working Missourians while the corruption keeps rolling. That’s not free enterprise—it’s manipulation of the market by those who fear competition.”

 

 

Overcast added that these tactics are not new.

 

“Historically, these same organizations have done their best to weaponize state agencies and branches of government against law-abiding Missouri producers, pushing for arbitrary enforcement actions under the guise of public safety,” Overcast said. “They try to lump compliant Missouri businesses together with a small handful of bad actors to justify crackdowns and support of executive orders from prior administrations that serve their own financial interests. However, I’m hopeful that with new leadership in the Governor’s office and across several state departments, this pattern will end, the weaponizing will cease, and correct interpretations of the law will finally be followed.”

 

Overcast noted the irony of the report’s claims about testing discrepancies in hemp products.

 

“It’s pretty rich for them to question testing integrity when the very same labs that analyze hemp products are the ones that test for the large marijuana companies,” Overcast said. “In fact, there’s clear data from other states showing those same labs have historically inflated THC percentages and misled consumers to make products appear stronger or higher quality than they are. So if we’re going to talk about testing transparency, let’s start with the marijuana industry itself.”

 

Overcast added that this fight goes beyond hemp; it’s about defending free markets from crony capitalism and monopolistic control.

 

“I’ve always had zero tolerance for crony capitalism,” Overcast said. “When big corporations use government to tilt the playing field, that’s not capitalism, it’s corruption. Missouri deserves open markets, fair competition, and policies that lift up small Missouri producers, not ones written to protect monopolies.”

 

Overcast said he plans to continue legislative efforts to bring real balance and fairness to the state’s cannabis and hemp sectors.

 

“I’ll be working on legislation, both independently and alongside other legislators, to finally create a fair, responsible regulatory framework that protects consumers while treating hemp and cannabis producers with consistency and respect,” Overcast said. “But let’s be honest, I expect we’ll see many of the same political games from the same entrenched interests who profit from the current crony capitalist system. Even so, that won’t stop me from doing what’s right for Missouri farmers, small businesses, and consumers.”

 

He also criticized how marijuana regulation was enacted in Missouri, saying the system was flawed from the start.

 

“Marijuana regulation should have never been written into our Constitution,” Overcast said. “The legislature should have been bold in years past and provided a clear framework if the people of this state truly wanted cannabis as an alternative medicine for Veterans. Instead, we now have a monopolistic regulatory system enshrined in our state constitution. If Missouri is going to continue to allow cannabis production within our borders, it will be a free market regulatory approach—or we won’t have it at all.”

 

Overcast warned that government should resist efforts to rewrite federal law or impose unnecessary regulations on lawful hemp operations.

 

“If you can’t compete in a free market, you don’t get to run to government to fix it for you,” Overcast added. “Our Congressional and Missouri delegates should be standing with small Missouri farmers and entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, not with corporate lobbyists trying to monopolize an industry.”

 

Overcast, who lives on his family’s farm in Douglas County and has extensive experience in law and policy surrounding regulated markets, pledged to continue defending law-abiding Missouri hemp producers and ensuring that state policy reflects fair competition, consumer safety, and economic freedom.

 

Representative Matthew Overcast, a Republican, represents Douglas, Ozark, southern Stone, and Taney Counties (District 155) in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November of 2024. For more information, contact Rep. Overcast’s office by phone at 573-751-2042 or email at Matthew.Overcast@House.Mo.Gov.