Missouri on Thursday awarded the first state licenses for medical marijuana businesses to 10 companies that will conduct safety and potency tests of marijuana products. 

The license winners were the highest scoring among 17 applicants to the Department of Health and Senior Services, the state agency responsible for regulating medical marijuana. The applicants were scored in a blind process before the licenses were awarded. 

One St. Louis company is among the winners: EKG Life Science Solutions, LLC, which plans to open a testing facility at 4633 World Parkway Circle. The group placed third among the 10 winners, according to a ranking posted to the DHSS website. 

The testing facilities will determine levels of THC in marijuana products and screen them for any foreign matter or dangerous bacteria, according to DHSS. [Read more at St. Louis Dispatch-Post]