Zaven Nalbandian

Medical marijuana comes in standard pill bottles like these. On November 6, voters across Missouri voted to pass Missouri Amendment 2, which legalized marijuana for medical use

On Election Day in Missouri, voters from all across the state voted ‘yes’ on Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2, which legalized marijuana in Missouri for medical use.

Known to many voters as “the weed amendment,” it allows for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, as well as adding a four percent tax on the product, all of which will be put towards funding the Missouri Veterans Commission, an organization which seeks to provide healthcare for veterans.

“I think it’s good that the taxes will be used for something to help others,” senior Nick Schumacher said. “It’s hard to not be in support of services for veterans since they fought for us.”

Senior Alex Evens turned out to vote on Election Day, voting ‘yes’ on the amendment.

“For starters, it’s been shown that marijuana can be a better treatment to many diseases as opposed to traditional painkillers,” Evens said. “For the people that would be using it for its medical purposes, I don’t think it would be a gateway drug. Also, the financial benefits to taxing the drug have been shown in other states to create a high economic benefit for all its residents.”

The amendment passed with 66 percent of the vote, part of which can be attributed to the surge in young voters that participated in the election. According to Pew Research, as generations progress, the support for marijuana legalization becomes stronger, with a 20-point gap between millennials and their parents.

“I think Generation Z is more socially liberal than generations past,” sophomore Sid Das said. “I think that there will be changes regarding marijuana legislation in the coming years as the government attempts to capture the financial benefits of the industry.”

Medical marijuana is used to cope with and treat a variety of diseases and conditions, such as epilepsy, which causes uncontrollable seizures. Senior Luke Griffith suffers from seizures and feels good about the passing of the amendment.

“I haven’t been diagnosed with epilepsy, but I have had two seizures in the past six months and I’m taking medication for it,” Griffith said. “I think it [medical marijuana] helps calm people who have[seizures]. Even if it helps just a few people, we should be open to legalization as a population.”