Missouri activists have turned in more than double the number of signatures needed to qualify a marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot. As the prospects of enacting reform through the legislature have dwindled in recent days, Legal Missouri 2022 turned in more than 385,000 signatures to the state on Sunday. They need 171,592 of those submissions to be validated in order to put the issue before voters. Campaign manager John Payne previously led a successful ballot effort to legalize medical cannabis in the Show-Me State in 2018. “As we submit more than 385,000 petition signatures to the state today, the message from voters is clear: it’s past time to end the senseless and costly prohibition of marijuana,” Payne said in a press release. “This widespread and enthusiastic show of support from the people of Missouri exceeds our expectations.” While the largely industry-funded signature drive for the adult-use initiative appears to have proved fruitful, some advocates and stakeholders have raised concerns about the proposal and pushed for legislative reform instead, like a legalization bill from Rep. Ron Hicks (R). That measure moved through the committee process, and there were expectations that it would reach the House floor last week, but the sponsor now says that it doesn’t seem leadership is willing to advance it before the session adjourns on May 13.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 05/08/2022 17:01:00