A medical marijuana legalization bill cleared a Missouri Senate committee on Wednesday, just a day after it was introduced. If the long-awaited legislation becomes law this session, a medical cannabis program could be up and running in the state by later this year.
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee approved the measure by a voice vote, and it is expected to be taken up on the floor as soon as Thursday.
Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R), the bill’s sponsor and a member of the committee, said that he tried to retain the spirit of a 2020 voter-passed initiative while making provisions more conservative to garner broad support in both chambers.
“There’s been a great deal of hours that have gone into this,” Blackwell said at Wednesday’s hearing, acknowledging that it’s “probably not a perfect bill.”
“We’ve tried to be conservative,” he added, pointing to track-and-trace rules and other restrictions that weren’t included in nearby Oklahoma’s medical marijuana law. “We tried to take…the intent of [Initiative] 65 and keep that within this framework.”
The bill’s route to passage remains precarious. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has already threatened to veto the measure over its proposed purchase limits, which he says are too high, and some other state officials remain wary. But supportive lawmakers have said they’re confident they’ll have the votes to override any veto and push the legislation through.
Medical marijuana remains a contentious…
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A medical marijuana legalization bill cleared a Missouri Senate committee on Wednesday, just a day after it was introduced. If the long-awaited legislation becomes law this session, a medical cannabis program could be up and running in the state by later this year.
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee approved the measure by a voice vote, and it is expected to be taken up on the floor as soon as Thursday.
Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R), the bill’s sponsor and a member of the committee, said that he tried to retain the spirit of a 2020 voter-passed initiative while making provisions more conservative to garner broad support in both chambers.
“There’s been a great deal of hours that have gone into this,” Blackwell said at Wednesday’s hearing, acknowledging that it’s “probably not a perfect bill.”
“We’ve tried to be conservative,” he added, pointing to track-and-trace rules and other restrictions that weren’t included in nearby Oklahoma’s medical marijuana law. “We tried to take…the intent of [Initiative] 65 and keep that within this framework.”
The bill’s route to passage remains precarious. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has already threatened to veto the measure over its proposed purchase limits, which he says are too high, and some other state officials remain wary. But supportive lawmakers have said they’re confident they’ll have the votes to override any veto and push the legislation through.
Medical marijuana remains a contentious…
