Mizzou Students Throw Support Behind Medical Pot Initiative: 'It's Just a Plant'
*By Carlo Versano*
On Tuesday, Missouri could become the 32nd state in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana.
On the ballot are three proposals on the issue ー regarding regulation, taxation, and the distribution of tax revenues. The amendments are byzantine and confusing, but if one passes, medical marijuana will become the law of the land in the "Show-Me" State.
Cannabis legalization has garnered more public support in recent years, and medical pot is often thought to be the gateway to fuller legalization. While the Missouri medical community is [split](https://kcmedicine.org/survey-results-physician-attitudes-medical-marijuana/) on the drug's medicinal value, much of the student body at the University of Missouri has a pro-legalization stance.
CheddarU went to Mizzou's campus to hear what students had to say ahead of the vote.
"I just can't see any good reason not to have it medicinally available here," said In'lana Henderson, VP of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Mizzou.
"People think that it's very taboo here," she added.
That possibility that Missouri, a reliably red state in the country's heartland, could pass a progressive drug law, gives some students hope that the end result could galvanize public support for cannabis legalization.
"I think that if we can legalize it, it will help other states do that, too," freshman Payton Nichols-Pittman said.
Or, as senior Meg Rogers put it: "It's just something that we don't need to make people feel bad for."
She added: "It's just a plant."
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed Taiwan, artificial intelligence and security issues in a call meant to demonstrate a return to regular leader-to-leader dialogue between the two powers.
April is Earth month, and while the green revolution might feel far away, the founder of climate VC Siam Capital says it’s on it’s way, and, even better: it won't cost you more.
From snow in April to heatwaves in December, it’s hard to plan a trip in a climate change world. Startup Sensible Weather thinks weather-based travel reimbursements are the solution.
Between corporate debt and the widening gap between ‘the haves and the have nots,’ there are reasons to be cautious about the economy, even with interest rate cuts on their way.
If the A.I. hype hasn’t given you enough of a reason to be excited (and a little terrified), the CEO of Zapata AI says the next frontier is designing bridges or creating pharmaceutical drugs.
