Adult-use campaign explores options, including 2022

The Missourians for a New Approach campaign may have to suspend their signature collection efforts for a 2020 ballot initiative legalizing adult-use marijuana.

Campaign manager John Payne said in a statement that the ballot initiative campaign to support initiative petition 2020-128 will be suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions and be back for the next election in 2022.

“We’ve seen tremendous excitement from across the state for ending the prohibition on adult-use marijuana. Missourians support taxing and regulating marijuana in order to give law enforcement additional resources to focus on violent crime,” Payne said. “Eleven other states, including our neighbors in Illinois, are currently reaping the tax revenue from regulated marijuana that we know would be so beneficial to the Show-Me-State.

“Unfortunately, while there is widespread support from Missourians to tax and regulate marijuana, there is currently no practical way during the COVID-19 outbreak to safely, publicly gather the 170,000 plus signatures needed over the remaining 6 weeks to put this on the Missouri ballot in 2020. We are exploring our options at this point. If we are unable to access the ballot this year, our supporters from every corner of this state will be back next cycle to put this on the 2022 ballot and finally bring Missouri the benefits of a safe, adult-use marijuana program.”