Weeks ahead of election date, polling shows double digit lead in favor of marijuana legalization in Missouri

Last week, Emerson College Polling and The Hill released new polling data for Missouri.

While polling from SurveyUSA has consistently shown support for marijuana legalization in the state to exceed 60% favorability this year, data from other polling agencies has been less enthusiastic.

In September, a poll from Remington Research Group and Missouri Scout showed majority opposition to marijuana legalization for the first time in 2022.

While the Emerson College Polling data doesn’t show the overwhelming support that is suggested by the data from Survey USA, it is a far cry from the results of the Remington Research poll as well.

The Emerson data demonstrates a double-digit lead in favor of adult use marijuana. In the poll, respondents were asked, “Do you support or oppose Missouri Amendment 3, which would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the purchase, possession, use, and sale of marijuana for personal use for adults over the age of 21. This amendment would also allow individuals with certain marijuana-related offenses to petition for release from prison or parole and probation and have their records expunged.”

48% of those surveyed support the legalization effort, while 35% opposed the measure described. 17% of respondents said they were ‘unsure.’

Amendment 3 aims to legalize adult use marijuana in the state while creating automatic expungement for many marijuana-related offenses and creating a process for those currently incarcerated or on probation or parole to apply for termination of their sentences. Amendment 3 also removes existing language allowing for imprisonment for many possession offenses, replacing the possibility of jail time with a simple citation.

The Amendment also creates parental protections for both medical and adult use consumers, an issue that has been at the center of many of the legislative efforts from NORML KC in recent years.

But the legalization effort faces a wide array of detractors. In August, Republican Governor Mike Parson, called the proposal ‘a disaster,’ and former Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, another Republican, has put his weight behind the No On Amendment 3 campaign.

On the opposite side of the aisle, Representative Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, has been outspoken in her opposition. Manlove is the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. In August, the Impactful Canna Reform Coalition, an organization Manlove helped to form, announced its opposition to Legal Missouri 2022 in a press release saying, “LegalMo 2022 is not right for Missouri. We, too, believe Missourians should have the right to consume cannabis medically or at their leisure recreationally without undue or unnecessary government interference. There are bipartisan bills that have been introduced in the State Legislature that address marijuana reform with a more holistic approach.”

In 2022, more than 20 pieces of marijuana-related legislation were introduced in the Missouri legislature. None of those pieces of legislation passed through the legislature.

Absentee voting has already begun, but the fate of adult use marijuana in Missouri will be determined on November 8.