‘I think that thing’s a disaster’: Gov. Parson slams recreational weed question on MO ballot
Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday excoriated the state’s recreational marijuana ballot initiative and said he didn’t know what’s in the lengthy petition.
“I think that thing’s a disaster,” Parson told reporters in Kansas City when asked if he supported the Nov. 8 ballot question that will ask voters whether to amend the state constitution to legalize recreational marijuana.
“I guarantee you this has been written probably by lawyers... and none of us in this state is going to be able to understand 450 pages of what it all means.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what Parson was referring to when he said 450 pages. The petition itself is 39 pages and the question that voters will see is less than a page. A spokeswoman for the governor didn’t immediately clarify the governor’s reference to 450 pages.
Parson also nodded at divisions within the pro-legalization community.
“I think even people that support that issue will probably be hesitant when it comes to this, but I think that it could be a real trap,” said Parson, a former Polk County sheriff.
Parson’s condemnation was the Republican governor’s first apparent public statement about the ballot question since Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified it earlier this month to appear on the November ballot. The proposal would legalize recreational marijuana sales, consumption and manufacturing for adults over the age of 21.
John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022, the primary group supporting the amendment, rebuffed Parson’s comments in a phone call with The Star.
“Obviously, we don’t think it’s a disaster. We think this a very positive change for the state of Missouri,” Payne said. “I think people know what’s in it pretty clearly. But also, if people want to read the whole text, it is not 450 pages. It’s about 39 pages. A person can sit down and read it in half an hour if they wanted to.”
Payne said Parson was “one voter of about 4 million in the state. So it’s up to the voters in total, not to politicians to make that decision.”
Parson took a more accommodating position on medical marijuana. Last year he participated in a fundraiser with medical marijuana businesses. Steve Tilley, a close friend and former legislative colleague of Parson, is one of the Missouri medical marijuana industry’s primary lobbyists.
The amendment has sharply divided legalization advocates and state legislators, with some proponents of legalization saying it would give Missouri’s current medical marijuana industry an unfair advantage in the new recreational market.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 6:18 PM.
