An initiative to legalize cannabis in Missouri got one step closer to reality as the Legal Missouri 2022 campaign delivered a petition to state lawmakers that would put it on the ballot this November.
The campaign gathered more than 385,000 signatures on its petition to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults – which is roughly twice the required amount to get an issue on the ballot. On May 8, the group delivered the truckloads of petitions to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, which will now review and certify the voter signatures.
“As we submit more than 385,000 petition signatures to the state today, the message from voters is clear: it’s past time to end the senseless and costly prohibition of marijuana,” John Payne, LegalMo22 campaign manager, said. “This widespread and enthusiastic show of support from the people of Missouri exceeds our expectations.”
The signature total exceeded the amount collected during the 2018 campaign that led to voter approval of medical marijuana.
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow Missourians ages 21 and older to possess, consume, purchase, and cultivate marijuana. Also, hundreds of thousands of Missourians charged with nonviolent marijuana offenses would have their records automatically expunged. If this passes, Missouri would be the first step to expunge past charges.
“It’s time to stop treating adults who use marijuana responsibly like criminals,” Dan Viets, a Columbia attorney, LegalMo22 advisory board chairman and Missouri coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said. “It’s also time to repair the damage marijuana prohibition has done to hundreds of thousands of Missourians’ lives by automatically expunging their criminal records.”
A 6 percent retail sales tax on marijuana would generate an estimated annual revenue of at least $40.8 million and additional local government revenues of at least $13.8 million, the advocates said. Already, Missouri’s medical marijuana market is on track to exceed $300 million in sales this year. The public dollars would cover implementation costs, including expungement, with remaining funds allocated to veterans’ services, drug addiction treatment, and the state’s severely underfunded public defender system.
“Nonviolent marijuana arrests are wasting taxpayer dollars, preventing law enforcement from fighting serious violent crime and keeping far too many people of color from fully embracing their pursuit of the American dream,” Kansas City community activist Justice Gatson, founder of the Reale Justice Network, said.
Gatson, citing an ACLU study, said Blacks are 2.6 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Missouri – even though their national marijuana usage rates are comparable. In 2018, marijuana possession accounted for more than 50 percent of all drug arrests in Missouri, with the vast majority for possession of small amounts.
The initiative would also establish a new category of cannabis licenses reserved for small businesses – adding a minimum of 144 licensed facilities in the state. This license would allow operators to cultivate the plant and manufacture cannabis products.