JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri secretary of state’s office has opened an investigation into whether someone illegally sought to raise money from investors to fund a medical marijuana venture.

“It involves a party that was allegedly seeking to raise money for a medical marijuana license operating in Missouri,” David Minnick, securities commissioner for the Missouri secretary of state’s office, told the Post-Dispatch.

He said Wednesday the securities division had opened the investigation within the past week.

Voters legalized medical marijuana in Missouri last November. The drug is still illegal at the federal level. Minnick said the office is not singling out the medical marijuana industry.

“There’s nothing necessarily specific as to marijuana that comes to mind, but if a person or an entity is soliciting investors, they need to be either registered or affiliated with a registrant,” he said when asked what was wrong with raising money for a medical marijuana business.

“And, the security they’re offering needs to be either exempt from registration, or registered,” Minnick added. “In this circumstance, we don’t know enough at this point to answer any of those questions.