I have had the pleasure of working with members of the Show-Me Cannabis team since mid 2012. I have had a front row seat to see that great things that they have been doing in Missouri. Their public awareness campaign is second to none when it comes to marijuana politics, and the recent release of Jeff Mizanskey was absolutely huge for marijuana reform’s momentum in Missouri (and absolutely huge for the Mizanskey family, go get ’em Jeff!). The Show-Me Cannabis campaign recently hired political consultant Jack Cardetti, which was a major pickup for the campaign.
The Show-Me Cannabis campaign had been pursuing recreational marijuana legalization in addition to legalizing medical marijuana and industrial hemp, but it appears that the campaign has decided to tailor their efforts towards a 2016 medical marijuana ballot initiative. Per KOMU:
Dan Viets, chairman for Show-Me Cannabis, said Cardetti’s hiring may be the necessary tool for finally getting the initiative for medical marijuana on the ballot. Viets said Cardetti brings much more than just his name.
“We hope of course not only that he’ll increase the credibility of our campaign, but that in turn will lead to substantial contribution,” Viets said. “Money is the mother’s milk of politics after all.”
He said the difference between past attempts and now is the level of support and with the help of serious players like Cardetti and out-of-state supporters, the future looks promising.
Viets also said after the recent release of Jeff Mizanskey, the hiring of Cardetti couldn’t come at a better time for their momentum.
In order to get a medical marijuana initiative on the Missouri ballot for the 2016 Election, the campaign will have to gather roughly 160,000 valid signatures. There are also district requirements in Missouri, meaning that there needs to not only be the total number of valid signatures gathered, but there have to be above a certain amount in each of Missouri’s 8 districts. Signature validation rates seem to usually land between 40-60% for marijuana campaigns, so the campaign will actually need to gather significantly more than 160,000 total signatures, knowing that a huge chunk of them will be invalidated. But I am confident that Missouri can do it, and you should be to0. Go MO!
