New polls in Missouri and Texas show strong support for marijuana legalization, Peru takes steps to ease patient access to medical marijuana, and more.
New Poll Shows 62 Percent of Missouri Voters Support Recreational Marijuana [16]. A new poll from SurveyUSA asked "Should the use of marijuana for recreational use remain against the law in Missouri? Or be legalized?" and 62 percent of respondents chose the latter. Some 79 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and even 49 percent of Republicans said legalize it. The poll comes as Legal Missouri 2022 awaits confirmation that its marijuana legalization has qualified for the November ballot. The group handed in some 390,000 raw voter signatures in mid-May, more than double the amount of valid signatures required.
New Poll Shows Majority of Texans in Favor of Legalized Weed [17]. A new poll from the Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler has support for marijuana legalization at 60 percent, with 76 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of independents and 42 percent of Republicans in favor. Medical marijuana was even more popular, with 83 percent in favor. Despite popular support, marijuana law reform is making little progress in the Republican-controlled state legislature. Democratic gubernatorial contender Beto O'Rourke has said he favors legalization, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he supports decriminalization of small amounts.
Medical Marijuana
Mississippi Medical Marijuana Card Applications Start Today [18]. The state's medical marijuana program is getting underway after passage of the Medical Cannabis Act earlier this year. As of today, June 1, the Department of Health is accepting applications from patients and practitioners; marijuana cultivators, processors, and testers; and marijuana transportation and disposal services. Applications should be approved within five days for patients and within 30 days for licensure, the department said.
International
Peru Issues Draft Law to Allow and Regulate Patient-Grown Medical Marijuana [19]. The Ministry of Health is seeking comment on pending legislation to amend a law passed last year that lets groups of patients or collectives grow their own medicine. The ministry is seeking to refine that law after hearing criticism from advocates who said patients still lacked sufficient access. The draft law will also include guidelines on the production and processing of medical marijuana by patient groups.