JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Aug. 12, 2022) – Missouri voters will have the opportunity to legalize marijuana for adult use in November despite ongoing federal cannabis prohibition.
On Tuesday, Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft certified a ballot measure that, if passed, would legalize marijuana in the Show Me State. Legal Missouri 2022 collected over 385,000 signatures to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot.
Under the proposal, adults 21 and over could legally possess up to three ounces of marijuana. It would also create a licensing and regulatory scheme for retail sales. Individuals could grow up to six flowering plants, six immature plants and six clones. The measure also includes provisions to create a program that would automatically review and expunge criminal records relating to non-violent marijuana-related offenses.
According to NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, polling indicates that the majority of Missouri residents support marijuana legalization.
“That is because Missourans, like the overwhelming majority of all Americans, recognize that prohibition is a disastrous and draconian practice best cast into the waste bin of history. Voters in the Show Me State want a sensible policy of legalization and regulation, and that is why we expect that they will overwhelmingly vote ‘yes’ on this initiative this fall,” he said.
Missouri joins Maryland and South Dakota with ballot measures for adult-use cannabis legalization already approved. Several other states have petitions under consideration, including Nebraska (medical only), North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
EFFECT ON FEDERAL PROHIBITION
All of this is illegal according to the federal government.
Under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) passed in 1970, the federal government maintains a complete prohibition of marijuana. Of course, the federal government lacks any constitutional authority to ban or regulate cannabis within the borders of a state, despite the opinion of the politically connected lawyers on the Supreme Court. If you doubt this, ask yourself why it took a constitutional amendment to institute federal alcohol prohibition.
The legalization of medical marijuana in Missouri in 2018 removed one layer of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana in the state even though federal prohibition remains in effect. The legalization of adult-use marijuana would erase more state prohibition laws from the books. This is significant because FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. When states stop enforcing marijuana laws, they sweep away most of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests.
Furthermore, figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly budget just to investigate and raid all of the dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. That doesn’t include the cost of prosecution. The lesson? The feds lack the resources to enforce marijuana prohibition without state assistance.
A GROWING MOVEMENT
Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and Alaska were the first states to legalize recreational cannabis, and California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts joined them after ballot initiatives in favor of legalization passed in November 2016. Michigan followed suit when voters legalized cannabis for general use in 2018. Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana through a legislative act in 2018. Illinois followed suit in 2019. New Jersey, Montana and Arizona all legalized recreational marijuana through ballot measures in the 2020 election. In 2021, New York, New Mexico, Virginia and Connecticut legalized marijuana through legislative action, and Rhode Island legalized cannabis for adult use in 2022.
With 37 states allowing cannabis for medical use, and 19 legalizing for adult recreational use, the feds find themselves in a position where they simply can’t enforce prohibition anymore.
The lesson here is pretty straightforward. As Tenth Amendment Center Executive Director Michael Boldin noted, “When enough people say, ‘No!’ to the federal government, and enough states pass laws backing those people up, there’s not much the feds can do to shove their so-called laws, regulations, or mandates down our throats.”
The post Marijuana Legalization on the Ballot in Missouri Despite Federal Cannabis Prohibition first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.
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