ST. LOUIS — Missouri was one of five states to include marijuana legislation on its 2022 midterm ballot.
A majority of Missourians voted to legalize its recreational use, adding Missouri to a list of 21 U.S. states that have now approved it.
Constitutional Amendment 3 decriminalizes purchasing, possessing, consuming, using, delivering, manufacturing and selling marijuana for personal use for people 21 and older in Missouri, according to the Missouri Secretary of State's Office.
The amendment also establishes a 6% tax on the retail price of cannabis products, and local municipalities will have the ability to impose an additional 3%, setting the stage for millions of dollars in state revenue.
It will be a few months, however, before recreational cannabis products hit the market in the Show Me State. The amendment will become effective on Dec. 8, and the earliest Missouri dispensaries could sell recreational products is February of next year.
For businesses seeking licenses and certificates to sell or manufacture cannabis, the amendment establishes a lottery selection process. The licenses will be distributed equally to each congressional district.
The government will begin accepting licenses for these facilities by Aug. 15, 2023.
Missouri residents will also be able to apply for registration cards to grow a limited amount of their own plants at home, and the government will begin accepting applications for the cards by Feb. 6, 2023.
Those with certain nonviolent, marijuana-related offenses will be able to petition under the amendment for release from incarceration, parole or probation and to have their records expunged. However, offenses for DUIs or selling to a minor will not be expunged.
Even after Amendment 3 is in effect, people could still be fined for smoking marijuana in public, and local governments could also ban recreational marijuana dispensaries from operating with a public vote.
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