Missouri Right to Farm Cannabis Initiative (2018)
| Missouri Right to Farm Cannabis Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Marijuana and Food and agriculture | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Missouri Right to Farm Cannabis Initiative was not on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have amended Amendment 1 of 2014, the Right-to-Farm Amendment, with a sentence designed to provide a right to farm cannabis and hemp.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution, which currently guarantees the right to farm and ranch, to specifically include growing cannabis (marijuana) and hemp?
State and local government entities expect no costs or savings.[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Missouri Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 35 of Article I of the Missouri Constitution.[1]
Full text
The full text of the proposed initiative is available here.
Developments in federal marijuana policy
- See also: Federal policy on marijuana, 2017-2018
Although the Department of Justice under Presidents Trump (R) and Obama (D) has not prosecuted most individuals and businesses following state and local marijuana laws as of January 2018, both medical and recreational marijuana are illegal under federal law. In November 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R)—a Trump nominee—told Congress that the policy of his office would stay fundamentally the same as that of the previous two attorneys general, Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. On January 4, 2018, however, Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, a 2013 directive that deprioritized the enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where marijuana had been legalized. This allows federal prosecutors to decide whether or not to enforce federal law regarding marijuana.[4][5]
Path to the ballot
Supporters of the initiative were required to collect a number of signatures equivalent to 8 percent of the 2016 gubernatorial vote in six of the eight state congressional districts. This means that the minimum possible number of valid signatures required was 160,199. Signatures needed to be filed with the secretary of state six months prior to the election on November 6, 2018. Six months prior to the election was May 6, 2018.
Damien Johnson proposed the initiative.[1] A petition for the initiative was approved for circulation on May 5, 2017.[2] Signatures were not filed for the initiative.
See also
- Missouri 2018 ballot measures
- 2018 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Missouri Secretary of State, "Petition 2018-190," March 30, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Missouri Secretary of State, "2018 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri," accessed May 10, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Forbes, "Sessions: Obama Marijuana Policy Remains In Effect," November 14, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Read: Attorney General Jeff Sessions's memo changing marijuana policy," January 4, 2018
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