Could this year’s 4/20 be the last without legal recreational marijuana in Missouri?

Marijuana could be legalized for recreational use within the next year in Missouri, but the exact path to that legalization still remains murky.

Four years after the Show-Me State made medical marijuana legal, efforts by both state lawmakers and a group pushing a constitutional amendment at the ballot box aim to make Missouri the 19th state to legalize recreational use.

Legal Missouri 2022 is an initiative petition aiming to land on the ballot later this year. It’s a multi-part proposal that would not only legalize recreational weed for those ages 21 and older, but also allow for automatic expungement of criminal non-violent marijuana offenses and create a 6-percent sales tax for cannabis sales that pays for expungement costs and veterans’ health care, among other measures.

The proposal, spearheaded by the leader of the 2018 medical campaign John Payne, has earned the support of a number of prominent organizations, including the ACLU of Missouri. Payne told the News-Leader last month he viewed criminal justice reform as “the cornerstone of our initiative here.”

Legal Missouri 2022 is still actively pursuing signatures before the May 8 deadline, asking medical marijuana businesses to assist with money and staff resources, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

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