Review and approval of the legal content and form of the proposed fair ballot language prepared for the initiative petition relating to Marijuana Use and Expunging Cannabis-related Criminal Records. (2022-059)

INVIDED ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI ERIC SCHMITT June 10, 2022 OPINION LETTER NO. 16-2022 The Honorable John R. Ashcroft Missouri Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center 600 West Main Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Dear Secretary Ashcroft: This opinion letter responds to your request dated June 1, 2022, for our review under § 116.025, RSMo, of a proposed fair ballot language statement for the initiative petition relating to Marijuana Use and Expunging Cannabis-related Criminal Records (2022-059). The proposed fair ballot language statement is as follows: A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to remove state prohibitions on the purchase, possession, consumption, use, delivery, manufacture, and sale of marijuana for personal use for adults over the age of twenty-one. The 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: along with imposing a six percent tax on the retail price of recreational marijuana. A "no" vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution and the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes will remain prohibited under current law. Medical marijuana would remain unchanged. If passed, this measure will impose a 6 percent tax on the retail price of recreational marijuana. Supreme Court Building 207 W. High Street P.O. Box 899 Jefferson City, MO 65102 Phone: (573) 751-3321 Fax: (573) 751-0774 www.ago.mo.gov Pursuant to § 116.025, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed fair ballot language statement. Because our review of the fair ballot language statement is mandated by statute, no action we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the initiative petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents. Very truly yours, ERIC S. SCHMITT Attorney General OP-2022-020