PETITION TO PUT MARIJUANA ISSUE TO JOPLIN VOTERS MOVES AHEAD

Joplin (AP) -- Activists who want to decriminalize marijuana in
Joplin say they have about half the signatures needed to put the
measure on the city's November ballot.

The Joplin chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws says it expects to collect all the roughly 5,000
signatures it needs.

The petition drive started in September. The group says it has
collected about 2,700 signatures that still need to be checked
against voter lists.

If approved by Joplin voters in November, the ballot proposal would
make possession of a misdemeanor amount of marijuana or marijuana
paraphernalia an administrative offense.