Since October 1, Legal Missouri 2022, the campaign supporting the cannabis legalization amendment in the state, has raised nearly $700,000 in large campaign contributions, the Missouri Independent reports. The donations are coming primarily from the state’s medical cannabis operators, who will get first dibs for adult-use licenses if the amendment is approved by voters next month.
BD Health Ventures LLC, which holds two dispensary and three cultivation licenses under the medical cannabis program, donated $200,000 this month. Grassroots OpCo LLC, which holds five dispensary licensed but has links to at least 16 dispensaries in the state, donated $100,000, the report says.
According to its July quarterly report with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Legal Missouri 2022 spent about $6 million getting the question on ballots.
The opposition group, Save Our State, which was formed last month by former lawmaker and longtime GOP political strategist Scott Dieckhaus, has not reported any contributions.
If approved, the measure would legalize cannabis possession and sales to adults 21-and-older and automatically expunge cannabis offenses on records for non-violent offenders.
Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics has estimated that cannabis sales in Missouri could reach between $250 million and $300 million during the first few years and could grow to between $800 million and $900 million by 2025.
A mid-September poll by Remington Research Group commissioned by the Missouri Scout newsletter, found 43% of respondents support the proposal, with 47% opposed and 10% unsure, according to a St. Louis Public Radio report. A poll by Emerson College Polling and The Hill released at the end of September found that 48% backed the reforms, with 35% opposed and 17% unsure.
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