Governor Mike Parson is accusing Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft of refusing to sign off on the emergency rulemaking process associated with Parson’s latest executive order. The order prohibits the sale of unregulated psychoactive cannabis products.
In a statement, Parson said, "By refusing to grant emergency rules to ban the sale of unregulated psychoactive cannabis products, especially to children, Secretary Ashcroft is choosing personal vendetta and unregulated, dangerous products over the health and safety of Missouri kids."
He did not specify what the vendetta was, but Parson endorsed Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe for governor ahead of the Missouri Primary. Ashcroft was among nine Republican gubernatorial candidates on the August 6th ballot, a race that Kehoe won.
Ashcroft’s press team responded to an email from KSMU asking why the secretary of state hasn’t signed off on the emergency rulemaking process. JoDonn Chaney, Ashcroft’s spokesperson, replied that Ashcroft had concerns that the rule did not meet the legal requirements as defined in state statute. He said Ashcroft reached out to the executive branch to give them a chance to explain how they met the requirements, and they did not respond.
