Cannabis Legalization Question

Cannabis Legalization Question Approved for Ballots in Missouri

The campaign seeking to legalize cannabis for adult use in Missouri gathered enough signatures to put the question to voters in November. Missouri voters approved medical marijuana use in 2018.

If passed, the measure would allow people 21 and older to possess up to four ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants at home. The initiative would also create a system of taxed and regulated cannabis commerce. Supporters of the measure say that legalization would generate new tax revenue for the state, while also freeing up law enforcement resources to focus on more serious crimes.

The official ballot title for the initiative will ask voters: 

  • Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to: 
  • Remove state prohibitions on purchasing, possessing, consuming, using, delivering, manufacturing, and selling marijuana for personal use for adults over the age of twenty-one. 
  • Require a registration card for personal cultivation with prescribed limits. 
  • Allow persons with certain marijuana-related non-violent offenses to petition for release from incarceration or parole and probation and have records expunged. 
  • Establish a lottery selection process to award licenses and certificates. 
  • Issue equally distributed licenses to each congressional district; and 
  • Impose a six percent tax on the retail price of marijuana to benefit various programs 

This article discusses the potential benefits and costs of legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. State governmental entities estimate that initial costs would be $3.1 million, while initial revenues would be at least $7.9 million. Annual costs are estimated to be $5.5 million, while annual revenues are estimated to be at least $40.8 million. Local governments are estimated to have annual costs of at least $35,000 and annual revenues of at least $13.8 million.

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