Missouri enacts petition to legalize medical marijuana

Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

Kansas City, MO – The Missouri Secretary of State has approved a petition that would amend their constitution to legalize medical marijuana within the state lines.

Their petition, enacted by “New Approach Missouri”, must receive about 160,000 signatures in order for this to be placed on their upcoming ballot. But that’s a tall order – just ask Oklahoma.

Last year, a group called “Green the Vote” in Oklahoma attempted to take a giant step forward towards the state-wide legalization of medical marijuana. They did not receive the amount of votes needed, but they came close.

The Oklahoma petition needed 123,725 signatures in order for the new Article to the Oklahoma Constitution to be accepted. If that amount had been reached, the cause would have had a place on the 2016 ballot.

This year, Missouri is doing the same thing.

Their initiative states that the power of distribution of marijuana would be placed in the hands of state-licensed physicians in order to determine who is in need; it states that there will be limited and regulated patient cultivation; and it states that there will be a four percent income tax and all excess revenue will go to aid Missouri’s veterans.

Medical marijuana is not available for access by Oklahomans or Missourians who are in need of a physician’s prescription. Patients who have benefited from cannabis oil or CBD (cannabinoids) suffer from life-threatening illnesses ranging from cancer to Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. Others, who suffer from anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder such as veterans of war, have seen results from medical marijuana and THC.

In many cases, pharmaceutical medications reap only a fraction of the benefits that are seen from cannabis.

If you are in support of the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, the time to act is now.

Missouri residents should contact New Approach Kansas City directly on their website for more information.

The Gayly – 1/14/2016 @ 2:09 p.m. CST