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Missouri Recreational Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2016)
| Missouri Recreational Marijuana Legalization Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Marijuana | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
| Not on Ballot |
|---|
 |
| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Missouri Recreational Marijuana Legalization Initiative did not make the November 8, 2016, ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment.[1]
| A vote "for" the measure would have given people 21 years of age or older the right to produce, sell, distribute, and consume marijuana and the right to manufacture goods from hemp. |
| A vote "against" the measure would have maintained marijuana as an illegal substance. |
There were two versions of the petition that competed for the 2016 ballot.
Other initiatives designed to legalize just medical marijuana, but not recreational marijuana, were also filed with the Missouri Secretary of State in 2016.
Text of measure
Initiative 2016-009
Official ballot title
| “ | Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
State government expects $1 million in startup costs and annual operating costs starting at $4.9 million, possibly offset by unknown savings in the criminal justice system. Legislative and agency actions will impact potential increased state revenue. The annual revenue increase is unknown but could exceed $75 million. The fiscal impact to local governments is unknown.[2][3] |
” |
Text of measure
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Initiative 2016-013
Official ballot title
| “ | Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
State government expects annual operating costs starting at $900,000 and an unknown increase in public health costs, possibly offset by unknown savings in the criminal justice system. Possible increased sales tax revenue is unknown. The fiscal impact to local governments is unknown.[4][3] |
” |
Text of measure
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Support
The campaign in support of the initiative was being led by the group Show-Me Cannabis.[5] However, as of April 2016, their website announced they were supporting the group New Approach Missouri's medical marijuana initiative.[6]
The executive director of Show-Me Cannabis, John Payne, thought that high voter turnout associated with presidential election years made 2016 the ideal time to put marijuana legalization on the ballot.[7]
Anthony Johnson, who played a prominent role in Oregon's successful Measure 91 of 2014, advised Show-Me Cannabis. He said he did not want to be a central figure in the movement: "It’ll be important for people living in Missouri to take the lead, but I will definitely provide advice from my experience."[8]
Supporters
- Doug Burlison, former Springfield City Council member[9]
- Cannabis Restoration & Protection PAC[9]
- Cannabis Restoration and Protection Act[9]
Opposition
Opponents
- Keeping Missouri Kids Safe Coalition[10]
Arguments against
Joy Sweeney, executive director of the Council for Drug-Free Youth and member of the Keeping Missouri Kids Safe Coalition, said,[10]
| “ | Marijuana, Inc. is Big Tobacco 2.0. ... In the states that have approved medical marijuana, the well-financed legalization movement has made significant advances and spent millions of dollars to decriminalize and legalize marijuana. But the data show that legalization drives up crime, causes deaths and hurts children the most.[3] | ” |
Media editorials
Support
An editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said,[11]
| “ | But the nation is quickly changing its views on legalized marijuana, and Missouri should thrust itself to the forefront of the debate, primarily because of its location in the center of the country and its reliance on agriculture and life sciences as major economic drivers.[3] | ” |
Path to the ballot
The supporting group needed to turn in at least 157,788 valid signatures. John Payne, the executive director of Show-Me Cannabis, hoped to exceed that number and collect 250,000 to 300,000 signatures. Missouri law required that signatures be obtained from registered voters equal to 8 percent of the total votes cast in the most recent governor's election from 6 of the state's 8 congressional districts.[7]
The requisite number of signatures were not submitted by the May 8, 2016, deadline.
Related measures
On the ballot in 2016
2015 and before
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.[12]
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:
State profile
| Demographic data for Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,076,204 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 68,742 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 82.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.8% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $48,173 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Missouri. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Missouri
Missouri voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Missouri coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Missouri
- United States congressional delegations from Missouri
- Public policy in Missouri
- Endorsers in Missouri
- Missouri fact checks
- More...
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- Missouri 2016 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "2016 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri," accessed February 19, 2015
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "2016 initiative petitions approved for circulation in Missouri," accessed February 4, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "2016 initiative petitions approved for circulation in Missouri," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ Show-Me Cannabis, "Homepage," accessed January 6, 2015
- ↑ Show-Me Cannabis, "The Initiative," accessed April 22, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kansas City Business Journal, "Legalize it? Missouri group files petition for recreational marijuana," November 7, 2014
- ↑ Columbia Missourian, "Leader of Oregon's marijuana movement sets sights on Missouri," December 18, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Springfield News-Leader, "Medical marijuana advocates seek signatures in Springfield," February 6, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Smithville Herald, "Keeping Missouri Kids Safe Coalition opposes marijuana legalization," April 25, 2016
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Editorial: Could pot legalization make Missouri's 2016 ballot? Let's hope so." November 13, 2014
- ↑ ProCon.org, "25 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC," June 28, 2016
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