Missouri Marijuana Legalization Introduced
Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University City) introduced legislation that would legalize the medical and recreational use of marijuana last week. As a result of the hard working campaign team, Show-Me-Cannabis, Missouri is helping change America’s view of marijuana from the heartland. From Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s press release:
“After much thought, deliberation, and research, I have concluded that Missouri must begin the process of legalizing marijuana in order to reap the multiple associated economic and societal benefits,” Chappelle-Nadal stated.
Chappelle-Nadal’s legislation is based on Colorado’s model, which tracks every aspect of production and taxes at the point of sale. Last month alone, Colorado received over $8.5 million in new tax revenue from the sale of legal marijuana. The new law would help Missouri better fund education, healthcare and other pressing needs for underserved communities.
Legalization would create jobs on a significant scale.
“Most of all, this is a free-market jobs bill,” stated Chappelle-Nadal. “This is the definition of economic development.”
Over and above the proven medical and economic benefits, legalization offers societal advantages too compelling to ignore. Recent studies suggest marijuana may help decrease instances of domestic violence and also reduce the number of painkiller overdoses.
Chappelle-Nadal’s legalization would also save the state money on law enforcement, prisons, and courts, while at the same time helping collapse a dangerous and sometimes violent underground market.
“Missouri has the chance to be at the forefront of an emerging industry, creating jobs in both rural and urban areas of this state,” said Chappelle-Nadal. “We simply cannot afford to be behind the curve on this issue any longer.”
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One Response to “Missouri Senator Introduces Marijuana Legalization Bill”
Ron
Now, everybody knows that marijuana legalization will make things great for casual marijuana smokers, and of course for medical patients that need it. People know that it will create a lot of business and jobs in the form of dispensaries and legal farming. People know about the positive changes against the War on Drugs, and the tax money it will create for schools, healthcare, and other things like it does in Washington and Colorado.
However, what about the Prisons? 50.1% of incarcerations are drug related, and 27.6% of those are for marijuana. That’s 13.8% of all arrests. There are 2 million inmates in American prisons. That means that 276,552 people can get their lives back, and hundreds of thousands more that will never see time. That’s millions of lives that won’t be ruined by a term in prison, parents who won’t have to miss seeing their kid grow up, and kids that won’t miss the chance to grow up themselves. That is enormous.