By Phillip Smith
Activists with Show-Me Cannabis Reform have been crisscrossing Missouri to lay the groundwork for marijuana legalization, and now, they’ve taken the next step. Columbia-based attorney Dan Viets, the group’s chairman Wednesday filed a series of initiatives that would legalize marijuana via a constitutional amendment.
The initiatives are all variations on a theme; all would legalize marijuana for persons 21 and over, but vary on the number of plants allowed to be grown, whether convictions of previous offenders should be expunged, and how to regulate advertising. Show-Me Cannabis Reform will do polling to see which has the most support among Missourians.
The initiative petitions must be approved by the secretary of state’s office, and after that, the office has 10 days to approve draft ballot summary language. Even if approved, initiative supporters face a daunting task. To qualify for the ballot, organizers must collect the signatures of roughly 320,000 registered voters by May 4 and they must gather signatures from at least 8% of registered voters in six of the state’s eight US congressional districts.
Show-Me Cannabis Reform has commissioned polling that shows majority support for marijuana legalization. A September 2012 poll had legalization winning 50%-45%, with support climbing to 54% when respondents were given more information. Still, that is outside the comfort level for most initiative-watchers, who will argue that initiatives should be polling at least 60% at the beginning of the campaign.
But Show-Me Cannabis Reform is undaunted and moving forward. While some marijuana reform-friendly state legislators would prefer that lawmakers deal with the issue instead of voters, the group doesn’t want to wait for the legislature to get around to dealing with it.
“We believe the legislature is totally out of touch with the voters of Missouri on this,” Viets told the Columbia Missourian Wednesday.
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