Welcome to Show-Me Cannabis Regulation
Show-Me Cannabis Regulation is an association of organizations and individuals who believe that cannabis prohibition is a failed policy, and regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol would better control the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis than the current criminal market system does.
Show-Me Cannabis Regulation seeks to engage Missourians in a serious, public discussion about the issues associated with the cannabis consumption, including medical cannabis, industrial hemp, public safety and financial analysis in order to address problems associated with the current, failed policy.
Because there is no legal access to cannabis, nearly 30 million Americans last year met their consumer demand from a federally illegal market. Without the accountability and transparency of governmental oversight over this business, violent criminals have complete control of the marijuana market in a manner similar to the days of alcohol prohibition. Show-Me Cannabis Regulation seeks to address these problems by returning control of cannabis to government and private business, rather than criminal enterprise.
UPDATE:
For Immediate Release
May 7, 2012
Despite Growing Support, Cannabis Legalization Petition Will Not Qualify for 2012 Ballot
More than 65,000 Missourians signed on in effort to end destructive policy of prohibition
A groundswell of support has mounted in recent years to end counterproductive policies prohibiting marijuana production and possession, both in Missouri and throughout the United States. Show-Me Cannabis Regulation began circulating petitions in November 2011, and despite gathering signatures from more than 65,000 Missourians who were willing to voice their support for legalization, this total fell short from the number of signatures needed by the May 6 deadline. Unfortunately, cannabis legalization will not appear on Missouri’s 2012 ballot.
The campaign has been successful in many other practical ways, however. One notable achievement was its ability to mobilize a network of committed activists. Fewer than 300 people, most of them serving solely as unpaid volunteers, were able to collect those many thousands of signatures in about five months.
“This is both a respectable accomplishment and one for which each of those volunteers deserves the deepest gratitude,” Eastern Missouri Campaign Manager John Payne said. “These amazing activists spent their weekends carting around signs in one hand and a stack of petitions in another, notarizing those petitions until their hands cramped up, and then validating signatures deep into the night. Their work exemplifies what it means to be a citizen in a republic, and they succeeded in putting the issue front and center before hundreds of thousands of Missourians.”
Although Show-Me Cannabis Regulation has not yet made any formal decision yet about the future of the campaign organization, letting the voters of Missouri have their say remains our goal – and that will undoubtedly happen in the years to come. The movement to end cannabis prohibition grows stronger every day. A recent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that more Americans favor marijuana legalization than oppose it, confirming the results of a Gallup poll finding that a majority of likely voters nationwide are in favor of the idea, with 54 percent support in the Midwest. In November, voters in Colorado and Washington will vote on initiatives that will legalize and regulate cannabis like alcohol if passed, and a similar initiative in Oregon could also make the ballot.
“The movement to end cannabis prohibition in Missouri has never been stronger. We’ve always been aware that this is a high hurdle to cross, but with Show-Me Cannabis Regulation we have built an enormous stepping stone to clearing it. We’ve created a real conversation about the failure of our current policy and what can be democratically done to make our society stronger and safer,” says Western Missouri Campaign Director Amber Iris Langston. ”There is no reason we would stop now.”
