Enough Signatures Collected in Missouri to Put Medical Marijuana Legalization to a Public Vote

Enough Signatures Collected in Missouri to Put Medical Marijuana Legalization to a Public Vote

Advocates of a Missouri initiative to legalize medical marijuana have collected enough signatures to put the measure on the November general election ballot.

“This Sunday, our petition drive to place medical cannabis on the November ballot surpassed 200k total signatures”, says New Approach Missouri. This surpasses the 160,000 signatures required to put the measure to a vote. However, given that some of the 200,000 signatures may not be valid (such as duplicate signatures or signatures from those not registered to vote in Missouri), the group will be continuing to collect signatures with a goal of reaching 300,000.

If the initiative is placed on the ballot, and approved by voters,  “a statewide system for production and sale of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products” would be established, with patients also allowed to grow their own cannabis. “Instead of creating a short and restrictive list of qualifying conditions, this initiative puts power in the hands of a state-licensed physicians, not politicians or bureaucrats, to determine who will benefit from medical cannabis.”

The initiative “levies a four percent retail tax, and all revenue in excess of the cost of regulating the medical cannabis program will go to help Missouri’s veterans.” The proposal puts “Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in charge of licensing and implementation, but also allows the department to contract with other state agencies when necessary for effective and efficient regulation.”

More information about the initiative, and about New  Approach Missouri, can be found by clicking here.