Politics Election 2018: A Complete Guide to Cannabis on the Ballot Bruce Barcott October 31, 2018

Cannabis legalization goes before the voters in a number of states on Nov. 6. This year’s highlights:

Michigan and North Dakota will decide statewide measures on the legalization of adult-use cannabis.

Utah and Missouri will consider medical marijuana legalization initiatives.

Other states will consider smaller reforms or advisory measures, including Ohio and Wisconsin.

Leafly’s political staff will update this page with the latest poll numbers, financial contributions, and election data until Election Day. Follow our live Election Day coverage here. Find Legal Cannabis Near You Leafly's Dispensary Finder Is Live & Local FIND

States in Play: November 2018

Adult Use

State Measure Status Michigan Proposal 1 2018 polls:

61% Yes

35% No

5% Undecided North Dakota Measure 3 All over the place. One polls shows 51% support, another shows 26% support.

Medical

Local Decriminalization

Location Ballot Measure What It Affects Status Dayton, Ohio Advisory measure City of Dayton Non-binding advisory vote: If passed, it would still take a city commission vote to amend city ordinances Ohio State Issue 1 Entire state of Ohio Measure would reduce felony drug & paraphernalia possession to misdemeanors Wisconsin County-by-County Advisory Referendums 16 of Wisconsin's 72 counties 16 counties will vote on cannabis policy. Some on medical, some on adult use. All will be non-binding, advisory votes only. Los Angeles, CA Measure B Los Angeles cannabis industry Would allow City of LA to establish a city-run public bank, in part to serve the cannabis industry.

Statewide Ballot Measures

Michigan

Proposal 18-1, Adult Use

Prop 18-1 would legalize cannabis for adults 21 or older. The measure would allow flower, concentrates, and cannabis-infused edibles, as well as homegrow (up to 12 plants) for personal consumption. Possession limits: 10 ounces of cannabis flower. Local opt-out would be allowed, giving local municipalities the ability to ban or severely restrict cannabis businesses. A 10% cannabis tax would be imposed on retail sales. That revenue would be devoted to regulatory costs, clinical research, schools, roads, and municipalities where cannabis businesses are located.

Who’s backing the initiative: The MI Legalize 2018 campaign includes buy-in from the Coalition To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, Michigan NORML, the ACLU, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project, the marijuana law section of the State Bar Association, and other groups. That amount of unity is unusual for a legalization campaign–and indicative of the organizational power behind the movement in Michigan.

Who’s opposing it: Nobody yet.

See the full text of the measure here.

Missouri

Amendment 2, Medical (New Approach Missouri)

Amendment 3, Medical (Ben Bradshaw)

Proposition C, Medical (Travis Brown)



Yes, Missouri has three competing measures on the same ballot. That’s the bad news. The good news: It’s pretty easy to differentiate between them. Amendment 2 is the grassroots standard MMJ measure. Amendment 3 and Proposition C are one-off attempts by individuals to pass measures that may or may not benefit them personally.

Leafly’s Dave Howard has an outstanding piece explaining the differences between the three measures, linked here.

Amendment 2: This New Approach Missouri effort would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for medical purposes. It would:

Tax medical cannabis at 4%.

Use tax revenue for healthcare services for military veterans, and administer the state cannabis regulatory program.

Allow patients to grow their own medical cannabis.

Amendment 3: This effort, led by personal injury lawyer Ben Bradshaw, would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for medical purposes. It would:

Tax medical cannabis at 15%.

Use tax revenue to establish and fund a state-run cancer research institute.

Not allow medical patients to grow their own cannabis.

The cancer institute would be chaired by Brad Bradshaw, author of the amendment.

Brad Bradshaw would also select the institute’s governing board.

Proposition C: This measure, written and led by lobbyist Travis H. Brown, would amend Missouri law to allow the growth, sale, and use of marijuana for medical purposes. It would:

Tax medical cannabis at 2%.

Create regulations and licensing procedures for medical cannabis facilities (cultivation, production, testing, dispensing).

Not allow medical patients to grow their own cannabis.

Use tax revenue for veterans’ services, drug treatment, early childhood education, and public safety in cities with medical marijuana facilities.

The latest: The wild cards in this race are, of course, Brad Bradshaw and Travis H. Brown, authors of the two off-brand initiatives. Bradshaw, a physician and personal injury lawyer based in Springfield, is essentially running a one-man “Ohio ’15” campaign, whereby he would control all the tax revenue generated by the state’s MMJ system. After getting his measure on the ballot, he then sued to knock the competing measures off the ballot. The courts tossed the case in early September.

Brown, a public affairs lobbyist, is keeping a lower profile, but St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger has accused Brown of being a stalking horse for a group of silent financial partners tied to St. Louis County Executive Steve Senger. According to Messenger, Prop C’s language grants local municipal authorities like Senger wide zoning and regulatory power to determine who gets the licenses to grow and sell medical cannabis.

Mo. Gov Mike Parson on medical marijuana questions on November ballot: “I think it has a good chance of passing”. Says might be tough for voters to pick between the 3 MedPot Questions. Says he has not focused on it personally. #MikeParson #Missourimedicalmarijuana #kmbc pic.twitter.com/bfnKAboPFN — Micheal Mahoney (@KCMikeMahoney) September 6, 2018

The odds: “I think it has a good chance of passing,” Gov. Mike Parson said of medical cannabis legalization, in an interview with KMBC’s Micheal Mahoney on Sept. 5. Of course, Parson didn’t say which version of legalization he believes will carry the day.

North Dakota

Bruce Barcott Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America. View Bruce Barcott's articles