Missouri Lawyers Use ‘Right to Farm’ Amendment to Defend Cultivation of Marijuana

May 13, 2015
johnhollon
CBE Policy & Employment Law updates, Uncategorized
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COLUMBIA — Two Missouri attorneys are using the so-called “Right to Farm” amendment to defend their clients against charges for growing marijuana.

Justin Carver, a public defender who works in Jefferson City, represents Lisa Loesch, who was charged in 2013 with growing marijuana in her Jefferson City house. After Carver was assigned the case in March, he read over the text of Missouri’s newly passed constitutional amendment known as “Right to Farm.”

The amendment to the Missouri constitution reads in part that “the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state.”

“The language of ‘Right to Farm’ is so very broad that it’s startling,” Carver said. “I just started thinking about it, and it just dawned on me that if you read this language, it sounds like growing marijuana is permitted.” [Read more at the Columbia Missourian]

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