Cannabis Activists In Missouri Collect Signatures To Put Adult-Use On 2022 Ballot

A total of 18 states and the District of Columbia currently allow cannabis for recreational use. Missouri could be the next to ratify the plant, if a group of activists have their way.

The Legal Missouri 2022 campaign over the weekend in St. Louis launched a petition to make adult-use a reality. Per state law, if the campaign collects 171,592 signatures by May 8, a ballot measure to legalize the plant for adults 21 and older could go before voters in November.

John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022, said at Friday’s launch event the proposed ballot measure would levy a 6 percent state excise tax on cannabis sales plus up to 3 percent at the local level to help fund a number of public expenses, including law enforcement agencies and addiction treatment centers. The tax is notably lower than most other states currently offering rec, many of which have seen expanded black markets for cannabis as a result of expensive prices on the legal plant found at dispensaries.

The process may seem like déjà vu for Missouri voters: Payne was the public face of the state’s successful effort to legalize medical marijuana back in 2018, which passed with a whopping 66 percent approval.

If his group gets the required signatures in six of the state’s eight congressional districts, Payne said Friday the campaign feels confident it already has the necessary support to make adult-use a reality.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican that has long opposed recreational cannabis, told St. Louis Public Radio earlier this year that he’d prefer the state legislature to discuss adult-use instead of having it go to the ballot, but confessed the initiative is “probably going to pass” if it goes before voters.

Both Parson and Payne say the state legislature’s inaction over the years has led to activists choosing the ballot route for adult-use.

In addition to allowing people to purchase cannabis for recreational use, the ballot measure sets up a program for people convicted of previous low-level marijuana-related crimes to have those offenses expunged from their records. If passed, the measure would also make over 140 new cannabis licenses available to business owners, with two-thirds of the new licenses going to cultivators and producers and the other third going to dispensaries.