State Senator Dan Hegeman of Cosby is asking Missourians to “think carefully” when voting on the November ballot issue that would allow sales of recreational marijuana to persons 21 years of age and older.
In 2018, 65 percent of Missouri voters said “yes” to “medical marijuana”. This allowed the state to have a system for qualifying individuals to buy doctor-approved medical cannabis for cancer patients among others. Now, a group of Missourians gathered enough signatures to put another marijuana question on the ballot. The issue to be decided at the election is whether to allow recreational use of marijuana in Missouri.
If voters approve, it would then be legal for people 21 and over to buy or grow marijuana for personal consumption. In addition, the state would charge a six percent tax on the sale of cannabis. It’s estimated to generate approximately $46 million in the first year alone. Hegeman said the money would go toward veterans’ homes, drug treatment programs, and public defenders.
More than a dozen other states have already put such a law on their books, Senator Hegeman wonders “where do we draw the line?” He cited multiple studies with a wide-ranging number of findings on marijuana’s effects on people of all ages. Hegeman hopes the state is not moving into a dangerous situation to what he called “appease some people” who would like to see a major law changed simply because they believe the time is right.
