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Missouri Marijuana Legalization and Automatic Expungement Initiative (2022)

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Missouri Marijuana Legalization and Automatic Expungement Initiative
Flag of Missouri.png
Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
Marijuana
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
Citizens

The Missouri Marijuana Legalization and Automatic Expungement Initiative was not on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.

The amendment would have legalized recreational marijuana, prohibited taxation on medical marijuana, allowed driving while under the influence of marijuana, and automatically expunged and released individuals convicted of nonviolent marijuana-related crimes.[1]

Proponents of a different marijuana legalization initiative filed signatures in 2022. That measure was on the ballot as Amendment 3. Information on Amendment 3 is available here.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:[1]

“

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

  • repeal all current medical marijuana (cannabis) provisions;
  • remove state prohibitions on possession, consumption, cultivation, and sale of marijuana for personal or medical use, regardless of age;
  • legally allow driving under the influence of marijuana;
  • release all individuals from incarceration, parole and probation from any conviction for a nonviolent marijuana-related crime;
  • remove state prohibitions on cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of marijuana;
  • destroy all state civil and criminal records of nonviolent marijuana-related crimes;
  • prohibit Missouri assisting enforcement of federal marijuana offenses; and
  • prohibit the taxation of physician-recommended medical marijuana?

State governmental entities estimate savings of at least $2 million annually and an annual impact to revenues ranging from a $12 million decrease to a $22 million increase by 2028. Local governmental entities are estimated to have revenue increases ranging from $4 million to $26 million annually by 2028.[2]

”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Background

Legalization in the U.S.

See also: History of marijuana ballot measures and laws and History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

California Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana, appeared on the ballot in 2010. It was defeated, with 53.5 percent of voters casting "no" votes.[3] U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder commented on Proposition 19, saying President Barack Obama's (D) administration would "vigorously enforce the (Controlled Substances Act) against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law."[4]

In 2012, legalized recreational marijuana advocates saw their first statewide victories in Colorado and Washington. Two years later, voters in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. approved marijuana legalization. Regarding how the federal government would respond, President Obama stated, "We've got bigger fish to fry. It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."[5]

In 2015, voters in Ohio defeated Issue 3, which was designed to legalize the sale and use of marijuana and authorize 10 facilities with exclusive commercial rights to grow marijuana.[6]

Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all had marijuana legalization initiatives on their 2016 general election ballots. The initiatives passed in all of the states but Arizona, where voters rejected the measure 51.3 to 48.7 percent.[7]

Michigan became the first state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana after voters approved Proposal 1 in 2018.[8] North Dakota Measure 3, which was also on the ballot in 2018, would have legalized marijuana but was defeated.[9]

As of 2019, two states—Illinois and Vermont—had legalized the recreational use of marijuana through the legislative process and governor's signature.[10][11]

The following map depicts the legal status of recreational marijuana in different states:

State political context of legalization ballot measures

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.

Comparison of legalization ballot measures

The following table compares a selection of provisions, including possession limits, local control, taxes, and revenue dedications, of ballot initiatives that were designed to legalize marijuana.

Click "Show" to expand the table.

Marijuana laws ballot measuresin 2020

See also: 2020 marijuana legalization and marijuana-related ballot measures

State ballot measures

The following is a list of marijuana-related statewide ballot measures that were on the ballot in 2020:

Ballot Measure:Outcome:
Mississippi Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A: Medical Marijuana AmendmentOverturnedot
New Jersey Public Question 1: Marijuana Legalization AmendmentApproveda
Arizona Proposition 207: Marijuana Legalization InitiativeApproveda
South Dakota Initiated Measure 26: Medical Marijuana InitiativeApproveda
South Dakota Constitutional Amendment A: Marijuana Legalization InitiativeApproveda/Overturnedot
Montana CI-118: Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana AmendmentApproveda
Montana I-190: Marijuana Legalization InitiativeApproveda


Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri

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 2022 ballot:

  • Signatures: The smallest possible requirement was 171,592 valid signatures. The actual requirement depends on the congressional districts in which signatures were collected.
  • Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 8, 2022.

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

Mark Pedersen filed the ballot initiative on March 23, 2020. On May 5, 2021, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) cleared the initiative for signature gathering.[1]

This initiative did not meet the signature requirements by the May 8, 2022, deadline.[12]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Missouri Secretary of State, "2022 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri," accessed May 6, 2021
  2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. ↑ LA Weekly, "What Killed Prop. 19?" November 4, 2010
  4. ↑ Washington Post, "How Democrats derailed marijuana legalization in California," November 10, 2014
  5. ↑ Washington Post, "Obama: I’ve got ‘bigger fish to fry’ than pot smokers," December 14, 2014
  6. ↑ CNN, "Ohio voters reject legal marijuana," November 4, 2015
  7. ↑ Time, "These States Just Legalized Marijuana," November 8, 2016
  8. ↑ Forbes, "Michigan Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization," November 6, 2018
  9. ↑ Grand Forks Herald, "ND voters snuff out recreational marijuana measure," November 7, 2018
  10. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Vermont's legal marijuana law: What you should know," January 23, 2018
  11. ↑ NPR, "Illinois Governor Signs Law Legalizing Recreational Use Of Marijuana," June 26, 2019
  12. ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "2022 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri," accessed May 9, 2022
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