On this ballot, it’s marijuana x 3

This is my sixth report on the upcoming November ballot measures, and this one is on the three ballot measures relating to marijuana: Amendment 2, Amendment 3, and Proposition C. All three measures attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Missouri for the treatment of various diseases, but each goes about it in a different way.

Amendment 2 would impose a 4% sales tax earmarked for veterans’ health care. If the tax generates more money than what is needed, that money would sit in the account created by the act and could not be used for roads, corrections, or any other state needs. However, money currently being spent on veterans’ health care could be shifted to other priorities, possibly resulting in no additional money going to veterans at all. The backer of this measure is an outfit called New Approach Missouri who has poured over $1.3 million into getting it passed. This group is an offshoot of New Approach PAC, a national marijuana legalization effort out of Washington DC. One of the more well-known Missouri contributors is St. Louis’ Adolphus Busch, as in Anheiser-Busch. Voters will see a very short summary of Amendment 2 on the ballot, but the actual language added to our constitution would be 13 pages long.

Amendment 3 would impose a 15% sales tax earmarked primarily for biomedical research. The group behind this measure is Find The Cures, which is actually just one man – Springfield lawyer/doctor Brad Bradshaw, who has spent about $1.8 million on the measure. The actual language added to our constitution for Amendment 3 would be 20 pages long, again not fully spelled out on the ballot. One notable criticism of the language is that it essentially creates an oversight job in government like a marijuana czar, and the only person who fits the listed qualifications for the job is…Brad Bradshaw. Bradshaw recently sued to have the other two measures removed from the ballot, but failed.

Proposition C would impose a 2% sales tax earmarked primarily for veterans causes and pre-schools. The group behind this measure is called Missourians for Patient Care, which has spent about $1.4 million to get it passed. Tracing the donors behind Missourians for Patient Care has proven challenging. The campaign committee is funded by a non-profit of the same name, who is funded by a front corporation, who is funded primarily by St. Louis millionaire Rex Sinquefield. Prop C would make a law, as opposed to altering our constitution, but that law would be 49 pages long, once again not spelled out on the ballot.

Each of the measures’ proponent groups claim to want to help ease the symptoms of those afflicted with various diseases, including cancer, epilepsy, AIDS, glaucoma, terminal illnesses, and more. And they want to use the sales tax money generated from the marijuana sales to fund help for beloved groups of citizens like our veterans. This would likely replace, not increase, most of the funding that is already appropriated for these groups.

But there are critics of these measures that claim they will do more harm than good. One criticism is that medical marijuana does not cure any disease, but rather just gets the user so high that they don’t notice their symptoms. Contrary to marijuana, CBD oil (cannabildiol), which is also a cannabis based medication, can treat the same diseases mentioned in the ballot measures, and does not produce the psychoactive high of marijuana. With the availability of CBD oil, critics say there would not be a need to legalize medical marijuana.

A second concern is that the marijuana intended for pain relief will be over-prescribed, stolen, or fraudulently obtained, and then used in illegal ways. This is what happened with opioids which were also designed for pain relief, but then became a societal problem with their widespread abuse and misuse. Law enforcement groups have been opposed to legalizing medical marijuana because other states that have done so have seen an increase in illegal drug use, petty crime, and general societal decay.

But the biggest concern may be the ulterior motives of the measures’ proponents and where this might lead. Eight states have legalized full-blown recreational marijuana, and all of them started with just medical marijuana. There can be big money in being a pot supplier. It may be that the forces behind these measures have the kindest of intentions at heart. Then again, they may be trying to position themselves for a big financial payoff down the road.

Voters opposed to medical marijuana have an easy choice – vote “No” on all three measures. Voters who are OK with medical marijuana will have to figure out which of the measures they want to vote for and then vote No on the other two.

If Prop C is the only measure that passes, it will become law. If only one of the amendments passes, it will be enacted since constitutional amendments trump propositions. If both amendments pass, the one with the most votes will be enacted, although they will likely get tied up in the courts to sort that out. And if none of them pass, life will stay as it is.

All of that will be up to the voters on Nov. 6.