Initiative to Legalize Cannabis Being Filed this Week in Missouri
The nonprofit organization
Show-Me Cannabis plans to file paperwork this week for a ballot initiative that would ask Missouri voters whether or not they want to legalize the possess, use and sale of recreational cannabis. The group, which will file the petition with the Secretary of State’s Office, is aiming to put the initiative on the 2016 presidential election ballot.
According to John Payne, executive director of Show-Me Cannabis, the initiative will be a constitutional amendment, legalizing cannabis possession and sales, while also allowing those with non-violent cannabis possession charges to have them expunged from their records.
Show-Me Cannabis will be required to collect roughly 160,000 signatures to put their proposal to a vote, though the group is setting the goal at 300,000 to ensure that enough of the signatures are valid (from registered Missouri voters).
According to polling released last year by DHM Research, 50% of those in Missouri support legalizing cannabis, with 45% opposed.
– TheJointBlog