SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – It will now be up to voters in November to decide if recreational marijuana will be legalized in Missouri. But the issue also has implications for people who have marijuana-related criminal records.
Legal Missouri 2022, the campaign backing the ballot measure, collected more than 214,000 verified signatures to put recreational marijuana legalization to a vote. That was about 30,000 more signatures than the requirement.
“There’s been a number of public polls released over the summer, and they’ve all shown 60 percent-or-above support for legalizing marijuana in Missouri,” said John Payne, the Campaign Manager for Legal Missouri 2022. “It’s something I’ve been passionate about for 20-plus years, and to finally see it come to fruition is very exciting. I think voters are going to vote ‘Yes’ to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in Missouri.”
And that’s what the ballot proposal does, legalize, tax, and regulate with an amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would:
–Make marijuana legal for adults over 21 to purchase, possess, consume, deliver, manufacture and sell for personal use
–Require a registration card for growing your own (up to six flowering plants)
–Impose a 6 percent tax on sales to benefit various programs like the Dept. of Health and Senior Services, which will regulate the industry
–Have a lottery to award licenses to businesses
–Allow most people with non-violent marijuana offenses to get out of jail, probation,…
