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Up To Date

Missourians will soon decide whether to legalize marijuana. Is the ballot measure equitable?

By Steve Kraske,
Zach Wilson
Published October 5, 2022 at 3:25 PM CDT
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Cannabis flower sits inside of a clear glass container.
Lisa Rathke
/
AP
If Missouri legalizes recreational marijuana in November, it will become the 20th state in the country to take that step.

Recreational marijuana legalization is a popular policy among Democrats, but the Missouri Democratic Party has declined to endorse the Legal Missouri 2022 ballot initiative.

Missouri State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove of Kansas City is in favor of the legalizing recreational marijuana — but she strongly opposes the legalization measure on Missouri's ballot next month.

She says too many aspects of the ballot measure are inequitable, including how licenses are granted and how criminal record expungement would be handled.

Manlove joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss why she believes the plan is not right for Missouri and lay out how she would prefer Missouri to handle legalization.

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Up To Date Podcastrecreational marijuanacannabisMissouriMissouri Elections 2022marijuanaMissouri Democratic Party
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Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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Zach Wilson
As Up To Date’s senior producer, I want to pique the curiosity of Kansas Citians and help them understand the world around them. Each day, I construct conversations with our city’s most innovative visionaries and creatives, while striving to hold elected officials accountable and amplifying the voices of everyday Kansas Citians. Email me at zach@kcur.org.
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