Recreational marijuana has signatures for November ballot

EDITOR'S NOTE: The day of the week has been corrected.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The campaign to get a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana on Missouri's November ballot scored a victory Tuesday when the Secretary of State's Office said the petition had enough valid signatures.

Missouri's Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office counted more than 214,000 valid signatures from eight congressional districts. 

And although congressional districts four and eight came in shy on signatures, Ashcroft says only six out of the eight congressional districts needed a sufficient number of signatures to head to the November ballot. 

This means the clock has now started for anyone to go to court and report any errors in the counting process. Following this, there will be an Aug. 30 deadline to certify the ballot for local election authorities across the state.

A full text of the issue will then be posted in several news outlets across the state--Ashcroft says it's important for voters to read this document before making a decision in the November election.

"We have posted the full language of this of the issues that will be on the ballot statewide, we have this language up there so they can actually read, not just listen to a radio commercial that's for or against or a TV commercial for or against or a flier. They can actually read what this amendment would do and I really suggest all voters do that to make sure that they are self-educated", said Ashcroft.

The legalization petition was one of two up for placement on the November ballot. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Tuesday in a news release that the marijuana question had enough valid signatures to make the ballot but a question on ranked-choice voting did not.

To make the ballot, a petition must have a minimum number of valid signatures in six of the state's eight congressional districts. The marijuana question had enough valid signatures in all but the Fourth District -- which covers part of Columbia and much of Mid-Missouri -- and the Eighth District in southern Missouri.

The amendment would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older and allow for the expungement of non-violent marijuana convictions from criminal records. The program is estimated to bring in about $41 million per year once it's up and running.

Medical marijuana in Missouri

Medical marijuana was legalized in Missouri through a citizen initiative process as well. It passed with a popular vote of 65% in 2018, and the first legal sale of medical marijuana in the state was in November of 2020. There are now over 187,000 medical marijuana patients in Missouri.

Since its inception, the medical marijuana program sold over $350 million in taxable sales. At 4% state sales tax, Missouri brought in over $13 million in taxes. The tax revenue from medical marijuana sales funds the Missouri Veterans Coalition. So far, nearly $9 million have been deposited.

What this means for people with prior marijuana charges:

Thousands of Missourians who were previously charged with the possession of marijuana could be given a second chance if the ballot measure from legal Missouri 20-22 is passed. 

Dan Viets, a lawyer with Legal Missouri 2022, says if passed, Missourians will no longer be required to pay large amounts of money to hire a lawyer. In fact, Viets says the automatic expungement will be funded by the taxes on adult-use marijuana. 

However, not all charges will be expunged. Viets says the legalization will cover many felony charges including possession of as much as three pounds of marijuana. And charges will stick for Missourians who've been charged with driving under the influence of marijuana or people who have been charged with having more than three pounds of marijuana.

Viets says despite some charges not being expunged at least most Missourians will be given a second chance.

"The main problem is the conviction, people who are seeking employment, who are seeking loans or sometimes just trying to rent a home often run into problems cause of that public record that's very easy to access now that everyone's record is now on case dot net. And Missouri criminal court database will be automatically removed," said Viets.