Grassroots activist groups in both Arkansas and Missouri have begun campaigns in their respective states to get recreational marijuana legalization before voters in the 2022 general election.
Arkansas True Grass is leading the charge in its state and has already begun collecting signatures to get their initiative on the ballot, Rogers TV stations KHBS and KHOG reported.
The group has until next July to gather the necessary signatures in order to make the ballot.
If the measure ultimately passes, the industry would be regulated by the state Department of Agriculture and home cultivation would also be legalized.
Meanwhile, according to St. Louis Public Radio, Missouri might have competing campaigns with the same goal – legalizing adult use.
Fair Access Missouri has already submitted – and seen rejected – seven proposed ballot measures that would have legalized recreational cannabis, but it’s now refining its initiative language and will try again, a spokesperson told the news outlet.
The campaign expects to have finalized ballot language by September and begin the signature-gathering process in October.
Another organization, New Approach Missouri – which ran the successful 2018 medical marijuana legalization campaign – will also be attempting to put adult-use cannabis legalization on the statewide ballot, a spokesperson confirmed to St. Louis Public Radio.