CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A Broadway hemp shop will close at the end of November, joining a wave of Missouri retailers shutting down as a new state law that funnels intoxicating hemp products into the state’s licensed marijuana system takes effect Thursday, Nov. 12.
Grateful Headz, at 823 Broadway, announced on its own Facebook page on Nov. 6 that it is “officially closing its doors at the end of this month” because of the new hemp laws, according to a listing mirroring the shop’s social media. KFVS12, which first reported the closure, spoke with the shop’s owner, whom it identifies as Madison McGraw, and reported that shelves had been nearly emptied by customers stocking up before the deadline.
What the new law does
House Bill 2641, signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in April, created the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act. Beginning Nov. 12, hemp-derived cannabinoid products are treated as marijuana under Missouri law and may be sold, made, tested and transported only by entities licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services — meaning licensed dispensaries, medical facilities and microbusinesses.
Under the law, products with more than 0.3% total THC, including THCA, fall outside the state’s definition of hemp, and finished hemp-derived products face a limit of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, as the Missouri Independent has reported. Selling covered products without a license is a class D felony carrying a $5,000 fine per transaction.
The law does not ban all CBD or hemp products. Hemp and industrial hemp are explicitly excluded from the new section, and how a product is treated depends on its ingredients, THC content and form.
One carve-out: drinks containing naturally occurring cannabinoids can stay on store shelves until Dec. 11, when federal restrictions kick in, though buyers must be 21 and older in the meantime, the Missouri Independent reported.
Kehoe has said the law aligns Missouri with changes Congress made to the federal definition of hemp in November 2025, which count total THC rather than only delta-9 and impose the same per-container limit.
Local shops caught in the shift
The Cape Girardeau closure is part of a broader shakeout. The Grateful Headz brand operates several Southeast Missouri locations; a KFVS report from April identified Jamie Turner as the owner of Grateful Headz stores in Dexter and Chaffee, and hemp-derived products made up the bulk of that business’s sales.
Other Missouri hemp retailers announced shutdowns shortly after Kehoe signed the bill in late April, including Slaphappy Hemp Company, according to WGEM. Before the signing, shop owners delivered what they said were about 10,000 handwritten letters to the governor’s office urging a veto; Kehoe signed the bill anyway.
Courts and enforcement
Another legal obstacle for the industry fell this month. A federal judge in the Western District of Missouri dismissed a lawsuit led by the Missouri Hemp Trade Association that challenged HB 2641, ruling Nov. 4 that the law had not yet taken effect and its application to the plaintiffs was still uncertain, the Missouri Independent reported. Plaintiffs are considering an appeal.
Enforcement is already ramping up. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced four lawsuits this month against retailers accused of selling marijuana disguised as hemp, and DHHS has estimated that roughly 40,000 food establishments and smoke shops statewide could be affected by the new restrictions.
For customers of shops like Grateful Headz, the message is simple: after Thursday, intoxicating hemp products will be available only from Missouri’s licensed marijuana dispensaries — and some familiar shelves in Southeast Missouri will be empty for good.