Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2020)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Flag of Missouri.png
Election date
November 3, 2020
Topic
Marijuana
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
Citizens

The Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative was not on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.

Deirdre Hirner filed three different versions of the amendment. The proposals would have legalized the possession, use, commercial production, and sale of marijuana in Missouri. The ballot measure would have enacted a 15 percent tax on non-medical marijuana sales and distributed revenue to a fund for veterans' services, state highways, and drug addiction treatment.[1]

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the measure is available for Initiative 2020-126, Initiative 2020-127, and Initiative 2020-128,

Sponsors

Missourians for a New Approach led the campaign in support of the initiative.[2]

Background

Recreational marijuana in the United States

See also: History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

As of July 2019, 11 states and the District of Columbia had legalized marijuana for recreational purposes; nine through statewide citizen initiatives, and two through bills approved by state legislatures and signed by governors. Colorado and Washington both opted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. In a subsequent Colorado measure, voters enacted a statewide marijuana taxation system. The three ballot measures that passed in 2014 were Oregon's Measure 91, Alaska's Measure 2, and the District of Columbia's Initiative 71. Voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada approved recreational marijuana legalization ballot measures in November 2016. The Vermont State Legislature approved a bill in mid-January 2018 to allow recreational marijuana, and Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed it into law on January 22, 2018. Gov. Scott vetoed a previous bill to legalize marijuana in May 2017. On June 25, 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana. Initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana were on the ballot in November 2018 in Michigan and North Dakota. The Michigan initiative was approved, and the North Dakota initiative was defeated.[3][4][5]

The map below details the status of recreational marijuana legalization in the states as of November 2018. States shaded in green had legalized recreational marijuana usage (the shades of green indicate the years in which ballot measures were adopted; light green indicates measures approved in 2012, medium green indicates measures approved in 2014, medium-dark green indicates measures approved in 2016, and dark green indicates measures approved in 2018). The states shaded in dark gray had defeated ballot measures that proposed to legalize recreational marijuana. States in blue had recreational marijuana approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. The remaining states (those shaded in light gray) had not legalized recreational marijuana.

Recreational marijuana legalization measures, 2012-2020

The following table provides information on the political context of the states that had voted on legalization measures as of 2022.

Click "Show" to expand the table.

Path to the ballot

Process in Missouri

In Missouri, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election in six of the eight state congressional districts. Signatures must be filed with the secretary of state six months prior to the election.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2020 ballot:

  • Signatures: The smallest possible requirement was 160,199 valid signatures. The actual requirement depends on the congressional districts in which signatures were collected.
  • Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 3, 2020.

Once the signatures have been filed with the secretary of state, the secretary copies the petition sheets and transmits them to county election authorities for verification. The secretary of state may choose whether the signatures are to be verified by a 5 percent random sample or full verification. If the random sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If more than 110 percent, the initiative is certified, and, if less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Stages of this initiative

Covid vnt.png
Coronavirus pandemic
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.


  • Deirdre Hirner filed the Initiative 2020-126 on October 18, 2019; Initiative 2020-127 on October 28, 2019; and Initiative 2020-128 on November 4, 2019.
  • On December 4, 2019, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) approved Initiative 2020-126 for signature gathering. On December 16, 2019, Initiative 2020-127 was approved for circulation, and on December 18, 2019, Initiative 2020-128 was approved.[1]
  • On April 15, 2020, New Approach Missouri announced that it was suspending its campaign. Dan Viets, chairman of New Approach Missouri, said that the campaign would target 2022 because there was no "practical way" to collect enough signatures before the May 3 deadline.[6]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Missouri Secretary of State, "2020 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri," accessed December 10, 2019
  2. ↑ Fox4 Kansas City, "Missouri petition seeks legalization of recreational marijuana," February 1, 2020
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Vermont
  4. ↑ The Hill, "Vermont governor vetoes marijuana legalization," May 24, 2017
  5. ↑ Associated Press, "Illinois becomes 11th state to allow recreational marijuana," June 25, 2019
  6. ↑ Marijuana Moment, "Missouri Activists Officially End 2020 Marijuana Legalization Campaign Due To Coronavirus," April 15, 2020
v • e
2020 ballot measures
I&R States
 • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Oklahoma • Oregon • South Dakota • Utah • Washington • Wyoming
Non I&R States
 • Alabama • Georgia • Iowa • Kentucky • Louisiana • New Jersey • Rhode Island • Virginia • Wisconsin
Political topics
Other
Flag of Missouri
v • e
State of Missouri
Jefferson City (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Missouri_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative_(2020)&oldid=10374807"