Missouri recreational marijuana campaign lacks enough signatures

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An initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri is falling short of the required signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

According to the Longview News-Journal, the petition needs help to reach its goal in two of Missouri’s six congressional districts if adult use is to go before the state’s voters.

In the 7th Congressional District, the adult-use campaign is 1,144 names short; in the 6th Congressional District, it needs 1,573 signatures.

The deadline for Secretary of State John Ashcroft to determine the success of the campaign is Aug. 9.

The initiative would:

  • Allow existing medical marijuana companies to also sell adult-use cannabis.
  • Add an additional 144 microbusiness licenses.

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Legal Missouri 2022, which organized the $5.9 million campaign effort, said the signature counts from local election authorities are being double-checked for any mistakes.

So far, about 400,000 signatures have been submitted.