FRONT BURNER FIVE QUESTIONS for John Mueller of Greenlight Dispensaries

John Mueller, 50, is a St. Louis native (Lindbergh High School) and serial entrepreneur who started out in Nevada’s cannabis industry in 2016. After selling the operation three years later, he moved to the Midwest and now has 26 dispensaries across six states, including 15 Greenlight Dispensaries in Missouri. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How do you think the adult-use rollout went in Missouri?

Nowhere in the country has that happened before where they launched a program ahead of schedule, even if it was just a few days, so I think it was a gift to the entire industry. Generally speaking, you see lots of delays or years of delays in places like New York.

Were all of your dispensaries licensed at the same time?

When the state announced the early launch, they didn’t really tell you what to expect. They had said as soon as you get your license, you can open, so everybody was wondering, “Am I getting a license on Friday?” We were fortunate that within a couple minutes of each other all 15 of the Greenlight licenses came on, about 8:30 on Friday morning, and by 10 o’clock, we were open for adult-use, and all of the sudden the lines started going around the building.

What’s the cannabis industry like?

I’ve done construction projects in the Ukraine, and I’ve opened a cattle feedlot in China, and the cannabis industry is by far the hardest industry I’ve been involved with since I came out of Mizzou.

What are the struggles?

When we first started even in 2016 — which feels like a lifetime ago — we’d bounce basically from one bank back to another until you effectively got caught, and you’d always worry about just simple things like making sure those payroll checks are clearing. In our industry, there’s always politics involved. So I think you stack all that stuff together, and you’ve got a very complex business that really shouldn’t be.

What’s your favorite cannabis product?

—A current U.S. attorney, who took part in a “collective eyeroll” upon learning Scharf was running for statewide office.

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