Politics
Missouri Cannabis Stakeholders Prepare 2026 Ballot Initiative To Create ‘Unified’ Marijuana And Hemp Regulations
Missouri cannabis activists and industry stakeholders are gearing up for a push to put an initiative on the state’s 2026 ballot that’s meant to consolidate regulations and create parity between the hemp and marijuana sectors.
The marijuana legalization law that voters approved in 2022 enshrined regulations in the state Constitution, removing lawmakers’ ability to make certain adjustments. The industry coalition behind the forthcoming initiative is aiming to strike much of that language and instead give a constitutional mandate for the legislature to develop statutory rules themselves.
“In our American tradition, the purpose of a constitution is to define and restrain the power of governments—not the private sector or the individual,” Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist for American Shaman, told Marijuana Moment on Monday. “It’s the job of statutory law to handle regulation of the private sector.”
“I think this solves a lot of issues for a lot of people,” he said. “The marijuana guys have this insane regulatory burden created by regulations that they can’t change, despite the millions of dollars they spent supporting campaigns for office in the last election cycle.”
The text of the proposal is currently being drafted by an unnamed law firm, Thampy said during a virtual briefing with stakeholders and advocates on Monday. The plan is to get the measure filed by August to make the November 2026 ballot.
The effort is being organized under a new political committee called Missourians for a Single Market, which was formed this monrh.
In theory, the initiative would create a more leveled playing field for the marijuana and hemp industries, which currently abide by a discordant set of regulations. What stakeholders want to see is both industries treated more equitably, with policies that more closely resemble how the state deals with the alcohol and tobacco markets.
“We’ve got this artificial legal construct called ‘marijuana’ and this artificial legal construct called ‘hemp,’ and these two legal creations represent one plant,” Thampy said. “And so the idea here is, it’s one plant. There should be one unified market. There should be one unified set of regulations.”
“We have an opportunity in Missouri to pioneer a first-in-the-nation approach,” he said.
Steve DeAngelo, a well-known marijuana advocate and entrepreneur who has been involved in multiple successful legalization campaigns in the past and founded the Harborside dispensary in Oakland, California, also joined Monday’s video conference and voiced his support for the proposal.
He described the three “pillars” of the industry that he feels should be unified under a single regulatory model: marijuana, hemp and “legacy” operators that were in the space before legalization.
“When you bring down the barriers to entry, all of the legacy folks who are right now out of the legal system would be able to come in,” he said. “So you create one single, unified market for cannabis across all sectors. That’s the proposal that I have to advance now.”
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Meanwhile, Missouri’s hemp market has been facing increased pressure from the state as officials attempt to crack down on businesses selling intoxicating cannabis products such as THCA outside of the marijuana program. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) sent over a dozen cease-and-desist orders to such businesses this month, threatening potential legal action for non-compliant businesses.
Lawmakers are contemplating multiple approaches, with different details on what kinds of products would be allowed and what limits would be set on THC levels in the products.
In February, legislation allowing low-dose intoxicating hemp beverages to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores was reported favorably by committees in both the House and Senate but was not enacted into law.
D.C. Hemp Company Sues Feds Over ‘Unworkable Standard’ Created By Marijuana Budget Rider
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
