The first marijuana growers licensed by Missouri will have to commit a crime to get started, and regulators are expected to look the other way.

Missouri law allows for state-approved businesses and individuals to grow marijuana for medicinal use, but says little about how growers should obtain their first seeds. That's because it's a felony to obtain young marijuana plants or seeds already in Missouri, or to get them from one of the 32 other states with legal marijuana.

“It’s a real sticky situation,” said Zachary Post, who recently started a Florissant business that offers to teach state-approved marijuana patients how to grow cannabis at home. “It’s legal to grow cannabis, but it takes a seed to grow it, but we’re not going to tell you where you can get it — it’s weird.”

Marijuana grown, sold and used for medical purposes became legal in Missouri on Dec. 6, but no one is allowed to do anything with the drug until they receive approval by state regulators. That could be as early as December for business owners applying to grow marijuana commercially, and as early as July 28 for patients applying to grow it at home.