2.18.20 issue of The Standard

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‘End It’ campaign SGA raises awareness against human trafficking

The Salty Spitoon MSU student hosts artists in basement for house shows

Olympic hopeful

Former distance runner prepares for Olympic trials

THE STANDARD

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M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 18 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

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@TheStandard_MSU/@Standard_Sports

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Uptick in medical marijuana licensing impacts Missouri State TINSLEY MERRIMAN Staff Reporter @merrimantinsley In 2018 the vote to use and distribute medical marijuana at the state level passed. Now, more businesses in the Springfield area are starting to distribute medical marijuana. The application process for distributing products prevented retailers from selling for two years. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website, up to 41 forms must be filled out along with letters of recommendation. These forms include testing, cultivation, dispensary and manufacturing facilities for distributing medical marijuana. Missouri issued 192 dispensaries, with 11 in the Springfield area, according to Greg Lee, owner of Hemporium, a CBD and hemp product retailer in Springfield. All licensees are now finished, except for those wishing to appeal. Lee said many businesses spent more money on lawyers and consultants, but a majority went towards maintaining a growing facility. To apply for a license, a growing facility needed to already be in place

Photos by KENDRA KERNEL/THE STANDARD

Hemporium, a local CBD store, has a designated area in their store for applying for a medical marijuana card. Hemporium is located on National Avenue and has information available regarding medical marijuana. before the application process. “Facilities already had to be purchased, locked down or retained in some way,” Lee said. “So a lot of people were paying rent as part of a speculative ‘Am I going to get a license, am I not,’ for months and sometimes even years. It’s

a very expensive process.” Though medical marijuana has been legalized since 2018, the Missouri State University Agricultural Business department is still deciding what path to take concerning it. Arbindra Rimal, department head of agribusiness,

agricultural education and agricultural communications, thinks the department should follow the issue to see where it goes, even if it cannot be implemented at this time. “I think, as a department head, we should watch and see how it grows as a viable

commercial proposition,” Rimal said. “And if the law enterprises, we may seek some sort of internship opportunity and then, eventually, it would be something that could be part of the program. But at this stage, I don’t really see anything enticing to

start the program.” Rimal said the department would focus on the CBD side, rather than growing medical marijuana, researching better ways to grow the plants and how to increase flower growth. u See HEMP, page 8

Food trucks soon rolling onto St. Louis Street Healthy relationships ‘Breaking BEARiers’ event teaches students about healthy vs unhealthy relationships

CAROLINE MUND Staff Reporter @cemund32 Coming soon to St. Louis Street: the Route 66 Food Truck Park & Diner. Located at 1530 E. St. Louis St., this lot will have 10 new food trucks along with a diner. The diner itself will not have food services, but it will offer a place for customers to come in and eat their meals from the food trucks. This project originally started when The Wheelhouse food truck left and moved to an indoor location at the Vib Hotel. Kirk Wheeler, who is the owner of Route 66 Food Truck Park & Diner, said he missed having the food truck up the street and received approval from The Wheelhouse to build another food truck park on St. Louis Street. Wheeler had a property that he wasn’t using. He decided to ask the owners of The Wheelhouse how they felt about someone opening another food truck on St. Louis Street. After talking to a few other food truck places, he decided to start the project. “A trip I took across the country on Route 66 last year gave me some good ideas for decorating the Route 66 theme,” Wheeler said. The food trucks will offer a variety of different meal options, such as Mexican, Italian,

KELSEY BENACK Staff Reporter @kelseybenack

Photos by KATE BROWN/THE STANDARD

Notcho Ordinary Taco food truck will soon be accompanied by many other trucks with all types of cuisine on St. Louis Street. BBQ, a truck that has 100% plant-based menu, coffee and many other options. According to Wheeler, he wanted to make sure there were a variety of meal options and that there aren’t any repeats. “I could see food trucks as the new popular places to go for food,” junior professional writing major Molly Harris said. “It is probably cheaper than many restaurants as well as quicker and more convenient.” Something that Wheeler said he hopes will catch the eyes of customers is the Muffler Man Giant which was

originally used to promote muffler shops. There originally were 11 Muffler Man Giants spread from Chicago to California on Route 66. Over time, these Giants were sold to chain businesses, not just for muffler shops. Wheeler decided he wanted to have the 12th one, which will be wearing a chef’s hat and holding a fork and spatula. “People that travel Route 66, especially from other countries, they’ve caught onto this and it’s kind of like against the rules of the road to drive past one without stopping to take a picture with it,” Wheeler said.

“So I’m hoping that’ll stop a lot of people.” Wheeler said the hardest part of this project has been the rules and regulations that come with opening a business. This project took two and a half years from start to finish. But he said he is looking forward to meeting the customers, getting to talk to them and hearing their stories. The opening ceremony was Feb. 16, invite only, for friends, family and business partners who helped with this project. The goal opening date for Route 66 Food Truck Park & Diner is Feb. 22.

On Feb. 12, the smell of pizza and fondue wafted out the doors of the Union Club and throughout the PSU. Tables covered with brightly colored markers, bracelets and other small gifts welcomed students to come in and take a seat. Planned by Missouri State University’s Student Activities Council, the “Breaking BEARiers” event was to inform students of the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. “Breaking BEARiers” is only one of the many events included in SAC’s “I-heartSAC” week, which aligned with Valentine’s Day week. SAC centered all of the activities around the motif of love. Juniors Emma Wulf and Katherine Morton, co-chairs for the Public Affairs Com-

mittee for SAC, organized and carried out the event. They said they had been planning it since the fall semester. “It’s important to us to educate others on what a healthy relationship is, what healthy sex is and just making sure that everyone is aware,” Wulf said. “A lot of times in college we’re exploring ourselves and exploring what life will be like, and it’s super important to us that everyone is aware of what can happen and what will happen in their lives. We just wanna make sure everyone is educated as best as they can be.” In the first activity of the “Breaking BEARiers,” event, Wulf and Morton placed posters that had the outline of a human figure drawn on them on each of the tables. They then asked their audience, who were in small discussion groups, to write aspects of a healthy relationship on the inside of the figure and aspects of an unhealthy relationship on the outside.

“A lot of times in college we’re exploring ourselves and exploring what life will be like.” - Emma Wulf

u See BEARIERS, page 8


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