Missouri Group Advocates 'New Approach' To Marijuana Legalization

ST. LOUIS, MO — Advocates are launching a new push to put medical marijuana on the ballot for 2018, hoping to make Missouri the 30th state to legalize the drug in some form. A new poll from the Washington Post, released last week, indicates that for the first time a majority of Americans in both major political parties support marijuana legalization. Proponents say legalization would end black market sales of the drug, leading to a surge of tax revenue as the business come above board, and make law enforcement officers' jobs easier. St. Louis alderwoman Megan Green submitted a similar bill last week that would decriminalize the use or possession of marijuana within the city limits.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:

After raising more than $1.3 million through June of last year, a group called New Approach Missouri — run by some of the state’s most well-known marijuana advocates — narrowly missed the ballot after election officials tossed thousands of the group’s signatures.

This year, New Approach is coming back with a new approach — validating signatures and collecting them earlier, said Jack Cardetti, the group’s spokesman. He said the group has collected about 100,000 of the approximately 170,000 signatures it needs to make the November 2018 ballot.

Voters in eight states approved ballot measures legalizing marijuana in some form last year. Some, like California and Massachusetts, approved full recreational use, while other states like North Dakota and Arkansas approved more conservative bills legalizing only medical use.

Read more from the Post-Dispatch.

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