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Mississippi Marijuana Legalization Amendment, Initiative 48 (2016)
| Marijuana Legalization Amendment, Initiative 48 | |
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| Type | Amendment |
| Origin | Citizens |
| Topic | Marijuana |
| Status | Not on the ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
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The Mississippi Marijuana Legalization Amendment, Initiative 48 is a constitutional amendment that did not make the Mississippi ballot on November 8, 2016.
The measure would have legalized recreational marijuana for those at least 21 years old. Adults would have been allowed to grow upwards of nine marijuana plants for personal use. Marijuana sales would have been taxed at 7 percent, except on medical marijuana or industrial hemp.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Should the use, cultivation, and sale of cannabis and industrial hemp be legalized for persons 21 years or older?[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ | Initiative Measure No. 48 would legalize the use, cultivation, and sale of cannabis and industrial hemp. Cannabis crimes would be punished in a manner similar to, or to a lesser degree than, alcohol related crimes. Cannabis sales would be taxed 7%. Cannabis sold for medicinal purposes and sales of industrial hemp would be exempt from taxation. The Governor would be required to pardon persons convicted of nonviolent cannabis crimes against the State of Mississippi.[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have added a Section 286 to Article XV of the Mississippi Constitution.[1]
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Background
- See also: Marijuana on the ballot
In 2012, legalized recreational marijuana advocates saw their first statewide victories in Colorado and Washington. In 2014, marijuana for recreational use may become legal via ballot initiatives in Alaska, Oregon and Washington D.C. All were voted on at the November 4, 2014, general election.
Support
A volunteer petition drive group, called Team legalize, formed to collect signatures.[3]
Kelly Jacobs, the campaign's petition organizer, said, "We want to legalize marijuana and decriminalize it. It's an adult discussion we should be having."[4]
Opposition
Opponents
Path to the ballot
According to Mississippi law, the number of signatures collected must be equal to at least 12 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial general election. Since the last gubernatorial election was in 2011, proponents of this initiative needed to collect 107,216 valid signatures in order to get the initiative on the ballot. An initiative can be circulated for one year before becoming invalid. Supporters were granted permission to start collecting signatures on December 17, 2014, but failed to collect enough signatures by the deadline.[5][6]
Noteworthy events
By late August 2015, organizers reported they had collected 10,000 certified signatures, but were having difficulties collecting the additional 100,000. Petitioners wrote a letter to the Mississippi Secretary of State that said they had experienced law enforcement intimidation while collecting signatures. Tampa-based businessman Jeremy Bufford had offered to pay between $1 and $2 per signature to signature gatherers, but said he started receiving threats against funding the initiative. "After consulting with law enforcement and my attorneys, I have decided to withdraw my plans for Mississippi, effective immediately. I want to see marijuana reform passed as much as you all do, but I am not willing to endanger my family to do so. I have received idle threats in the past, and this wasn't one of them," Bufford said, according to the Jackson Free Press.[7]
Related measures
The first attempt to legalize marijuana through the initiative process came in 1972, when California activists got an initiative certified for the ballot. The measure was defeated. Marijuana legalization advocates had their breakthrough election in 2012, when both Washington and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. Oregonians rejected a legalization measure that same year, but approved one two years later in 2014. As of the beginning of 2016, recreational marijuana had been legalized in four states and Washington, D.C. All legalizations came through the initiative process. As of the beginning of 2016, medical marijuana was legal in 25 states.[8]
More than 60 statewide marijuana-related initiatives were submitted for the 2016 ballot. The table below shows the marijuana-related measures that qualified for the 2016 election ballot:
The following table includes past initiative attempts in the United States to legalize marijuana:
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- Mississippi 2016 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Mississippi
Additional reading
- Jackson Clarion-Ledger, "Petition to legalize weed wants your signature," January 1, 2015
- Jackson Clarion-Ledger, "State marijuana ballot initiative moves forward," December 12, 2014
- Jackson Clarion-Ledger, "Group seeks ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in MS," September 30, 2014
External links
Support
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mississippi Secretary of State, "Legalization of Cannabis," accessed December 3, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mississippi Public Broadcasting, "'Team Legalize' Kicks Off Signature Drive," January 12, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedintro - ↑ Jackson Clarion‑Ledger, "State marijuana ballot initiative moves forward," December 12, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Mississippi pot legalization initiative falls far short," December 31, 2015
- ↑ Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi's Marijuana Initiative in Trouble?" August 26, 2015
- ↑ ProCon.org, "25 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC," June 28, 2016
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