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."
Image-sharing app Pinterest reported big beats on its Q4 earnings for the top and bottom lines. The social platform surprised investors after seeing a decline in users while earnings and revenue were much higher than expected.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
Stocks closed at session lows Thursday, mostly due to a larger tech selloff after Facebook parent company Meta reported weak earnings results one day before. The Nasdaq closed down nearly 4% for its worst day since September 2020. Erin Gibbs, Chief Investment Officer at Main Street Asset Management, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's close, Meta earnings, Amazon earnings, and more
Spotify beat fourth quarter earnings expectations, and also reported a jump in monthly active users and in paid subscribers. The report comes as the company grapples with a new question: is it simply a streaming platform, or is it a media company responsible for the content it posts, like Joe Rogan's controversial podcast? Greg Martin, Co-Founder of Rainmaker Securities, joins Closing Bell to discuss why the stock took a hit even though earnings results were positive, how the company can move forward through the Rogan controversy, and more.
Chen Arad, Chief Operating Officer for Solidus Labs, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why Wormhole was particularly vulnerable to a $320+ million crypto hack and discusses what new investors need to do in order to protect their assets.
E-commerce platform for construction and building materials RenoRun has raised $142 million in a Series B round, which the company says is the fourth largest Series B round in Canadian history. RenoRun’s platform offers same-day delivery of construction materials to job sites in Canada and the United States. The company aims to revolutionize the construction industry by maximizing productivity and efficiency. RenoRun co-founder and CEO Eamonn O’Rourke joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
