Title:
Election Day is tomorrow; remember to vote for marijuana initiatives
Message:
Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2, is your chance to help pass Columbia's marijuana initiatives. So, please go to the polls tomorrow and vote "yes" on Proposition 1 (a medical marijuana measure) and Proposition 2 (a "smart sentencing" measure).
Polls open at 6:00 a.m. and close 7:00 p.m. If you don't know where your polling place is, please visit http://www.showmeboone.com/CLERK/VRSearchByName.asp and type in your name.
When you go to the polling place, be sure to have your voter registration card. If you do not have the card, please be sure to bring at least one form of valid state- or government-issued ID. To find out what qualifies as valid ID, please visit http://sos.mo.gov/elections/faqs.asp now.
If passed, Proposition 1—the medical marijuana initiative—will protect medical marijuana patients (who have their doctors' recommendations) in Columbia from arrest and criminal penalties.
If passed, Proposition 2—the "smart sentencing" initiative—will: (1) remove the threat of arrest for misdemeanor possession of marijuana (35 grams/1.25 ounces or less) and marijuana paraphernalia within the Columbia city limits and (2) reduce the penalty to a fine of up to $250. Currently, Missouri's penalty for misdemeanor marijuana possession is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Further, the initiative mandates that all misdemeanor marijuana cases be referred to municipal court rather than state court, thereby protecting offenders from losing federal financial aid for education. Currently, the Higher Education Act's (HEA's) drug provision denies financial aid to anyone convicted of a controlled substance violation on the state or federal level.
The Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education (CAPE) has campaigned hard for these two initiatives. Please help make CAPE's hard work pay off by going to the polls tomorrow and voting "yes" on Proposition 1 and Proposition 2.
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please forward this message on so even more voices for reform can be heard.
