Missouri voters may have the option to legalize medical marijuana this November. Lawmakers are rushing to get there first.

The Missouri House voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana and Republican Rep. Jim Neely, the bill’s sponsor and a physician, argued that it was important that the Legislature set the rules for the industry.

“If we don’t take action,” Neely said, “voters of this state may very well take the decision out of the hands of the politicians and put it in the hands of the voters.”

Several groups throughout the state are collecting signatures for ballot initiatives that would legalize, regulate and tax medical marijuana in a variety of ways. A group called Missourians for Patient Care will need more than 100,000 signatures in its effort to change state law; another group called Find the Cure needs more than 160,000 signatures for a vote on amending the state constitution.

The House bill, approved in a 112-44 vote, would allow anyone over 18 with a terminal disease to access smokeless marijuana. People with Alzheimer’s, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and several other “debilitating medical conditions” would also be eligible.

Missouri would be the 30th state to legalize medical marijuana. Legislative researchers estimated that the state could bring in almost $5 million a year by 2021 through taxing what could become a $115 million-a-year industry.

More of this news at The Denver Post