Amendment 2 provides for a safe, responsible and veteran-centered way forward to make Missouri the 31st state to allow medical marijuana. It puts healthcare decisions back into the hands of doctors and their patients, and, of the three ballot options, is the only one backed by a true coalition of patients, veterans and doctors. As a constitutional amendment, it becomes a permanent part of Missouri law, providing certainty to Missouri patients.

Amendment 2 is a stark contrast to Amendment 3, the other medical marijuana constitutional amendment on the ballot. Amendment 3 is funded and supported by a coalition of one, a wealthy backer and the petition’s author, personal-injury attorney, Brad Bradshaw. Brad Bradshaw unsuccessfully sued the other two initiatives to try and get them thrown off the ballot.

Amendment 2 requires the Missouri Department of Health to act swiftly and enable implementation by drafting rules and regulations to administer the law. Under Amendment 3 Brad Bradshaw writes himself into the Missouri Constitution as the chairman of a new quasi-state agency and research institute and grants him the authority to appoint its board members. This institute would not only direct how taxpayer money is spent but also write and implement the rules and regulations on licensing and dispensing. No other state has adopted this type of new, unaccountable bureaucracy as their regulatory framework.

Amendment 2 levies a reasonable tax rate of 4% on medical marijuana sales and the revenue generated funds veterans’ services in the state. This funding mechanism is supported by patients, veterans and the healthcare community. Amendment 3 has an exploitive 15% sales tax, the highest medical marijuana tax in the nation, directed to the new research institute. It’s simply wrong to put a tax that high on medicine at the expense of patients with cancer and other debilitating illnesses.

New Approach Missouri is a coalition of medical professionals, patients, former public safety officials, and advocates working to pass Amendment 2 because we believe it is the best way forward to legalize medical marijuana for patients with serious and debilitating illnesses.^[3]

Access for Legitimate Patients

Long list of qualifying conditions, which may be expanded by the Research Board when reliable scientific data shows additional conditions will benefit from MMJ treatment.

MMJ is a medicine.

As a real medicine, Amendment 3 requires MMJ to be sold in dispensaries with pharmacist consultations available.

Amendment 3 is for Missourians Only

For an individual to grow or sell MMJ they must be a Missouri resident. Entities must by 70% or more owned by Missouri residents.

Everyone in MO can participate.

With over three times the licenses of the other proposals combined, Amendment 3 has far and away the most licenses to cultivate. 3 also encourages co-ops for farmers, and LLCs-joint ventures for businesses.

Monopolies are prohibited.

No person or entity can own more than 1% of the licenses to cultivate. Everyone gets a chance to be involved.

World Class Cancer Research Center

$66 million annually for Cancer and Disease Research. Each direct dollar will generate up to 4 additional matching dollars annually, bringing the annual total to upwards of $330 million to cure cancer and other diseases. Missouri will become a world leader in medical research. An estimated 10,000+ new high paying jobs will be created. State ballot language, and Tripp Umbach economic impact analysis.

Research Center Location, Satellite Centers

After the board recommends five optimum locations, Missouri voters will decide where the main research center will be located. Missouri Universities will have affiliated satellite research centers.

Economic Impact for Missouri – Proven Track Record

Mayo Clinic generates over $9.6 billion annually for Minnesota, that’s more than all MN hotel and lodging, motor vehicle manufacturing and professional sports combined.

Scripps Research in Florida, 9 years old, is estimated to soon reach $1.5 billion annually. Scripps had almost 3/4 of a billon in reserves last year, and recently Scripps was awarded over 600 Million additional dollars by the NIH.

Income Tax Refund

Income tax refund check to you annually! 50% of the money generated from the research institute must be given back to Missouri residents in the form of an annual income tax refund.

Law Enforcement

Amendment 3 provides almost $2 million in annual funding for local law enforcement. Amendment 3 also requires MMJ to be cultivated in locked secure and safe environments, and only with a proper license to cultivate.

Missouri Schools and Education

Cancer and disease research will generate millions of dollars annually for Missouri’s schools and Missouri students, plus additional millions of dollars specifically set aside for Missouri Universities.

Problems with Amendment 2

Amendment 2 allows home grow, up to 24 plants per household, selling it in neighborhoods. Polling confirms Missouri does not want home grow, and it is a loser on the ballot.

Amendment 2 allows violent convicted felons to grow transport and sell marijuana in Missouri. Need more be said.

Amendment 2 is recreational. 2 allows MMJ to be sold for any medical condition. It also allows “doc in the boxes” where a doctor can sit in a room all day write recommendations for marijuana. 2 is silent on limits.^[3]

Missourians for Patient Care (MPC) was formed in 2017 by a group of passionate Missouri leaders with a mission to bring medical cannabis to Missouri patients in November 2018. Operated in the shortest time frame, MPC collected signatures from voters in January 2018 and submitted the constitutionally-required number of signatures to the Secretary of State on May 6, 2018. Proposition C has taken best practices from other effective ballot measures across the country and applied them to this statutory initiative.

The sole purpose for Proposition C is to allow Missouri patients quick and efficient access to cannabis by physician certification only. Missouri patients must have a certain qualifying medical condition to access medical cannabis under Proposition C. The newly-created industry in Missouri would be regulated by a state agency that has an 80-year history regulating liquor business: The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco. The Department of Health and Senior Services would also be tasked with confidentially overseeing application and distribution of patient and caregiver identification cards.

Proposition C imposes the lowest tax rate of all three initiatives at 2%. This low retail tax rate lowers the burden of cost on patients accessing medical cannabis. It is the only measure that funds all drug treatment facilities in the state, regardless of drug addiction. Funds would also support veterans’ services, public safety, and early childhood education and development.

Proposition C is the only measure that requires local community approval prior to any licensing. The governing body of the municipality must adopt an ordinance, or the governing body of the county must adopt a resolution containing specific standards for license issuance. This requirement provides local control for communities to have a say in how medical cannabis can be accessed by their constituencies.

Unlike Amendment 3, Proposition C is not looking to threaten private property owners by abusing eminent domain laws or egregiously tax patients at 15% to create a fabricated ‘research institute’ paying them six-figure salaries to hope and find cures for terminal illnesses. Patients with chronic pain deserve serious and effective treatments. Prop C and its supporters stand ready to help deliver medical cannabis treatment options for patients in Missouri as an alternative to heavily-prescribed opioids.^[3]