Kansas City voters on Tuesday decided to lower penalties in city court for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, a measure to reduce fines and eliminate jail time for marijuana possession was winning 71 percent of the vote. The measure lowers the maximum fine for marijuana possession in […]
Missouri
These 11 States May Change Their Marijuana Laws in 2017
After four states legalized recreational marijuana last year and twice that many approved new medical marijuana laws, at least eleven more are considering changing their laws in 2017. Here are the states and the legislation they’re proposing: 1. Connecticut Not only are lawmakers hoping to expand Connecticut’s five-year-old medical marijuana legislation, but Martin Looney, the […]
Missouri Medical Marijuana Initiative Falls Short on Signatures for November Ballots
It looked like 2016 might finally be the year for medical marijuana to gain a legal foothold in Missouri. Opinion polls suggested the state might finally be ready to join places like Colorado. New Approach Missouri, the group formed to bring a ballot initiative to voters in November, raked in an astonishing $1.3 million in […]
Missouri Will Also Be Voting on Marijuana in 2016
Missouri’s 2016 ballot could be filled with weed. Competing proposals, bolstered by growing national support, are seeking to put medical marijuana legalization on the statewide ballot. If approved, Missouri would join 23 other states that have done so. Proponents have an uphill battle. First they need to collect 168,000 valid signatures from at least six […]
Missouri Ponders Medical Marijuana – and the Money to Be Made Selling It
JEFFERSON CITY — Steve Mitchem’s career has spanned from evangelical minister to president of the luxury jeweler Tivol to the controversial world of online lending. For the last few years, he’s also been growing and selling marijuana. The Kansas City businessman is a partner in Buddy Boy Brands LLC, one of Colorado’s largest medical marijuana dispensary […]
Marijuana in Wonderland: Making Sense of a Judge’s Anti-Cannabis Ruling
By Barry Gainsburg “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ” — Lewis Carroll, from Through the Looking Glass Last week, the U.S. District Court in Northern California declined to declare the federal classification of marijuana […]
Missouri Making Moves to Tax Illegal Drugs and Legalize Medical Marijuana
JEFFERSON CITY — It took a little while for Missouri Rep. Shawn Rhoads’ colleagues to wrap their heads around the idea of taxing marijuana and other illegal drugs. “A drug dealer is supposed to show up and buy a tax stamp for his drugs?”Bill Lant, a Republican from southwest Missouri, asked during a committee hearing on […]
Missouri Lawmakers Hear Emotional Testimony in Support of Medical Marijuana
JEFFERSON CITY — Advocates for increased patient access to medical marijuana, including television personality Montel Williams, shared personal stories while testifying for a Missouri bill that would create a state-monitored distribution program for the drug. Williams and others spoke at a House committee hearing Monday in support of the measure sponsored by a Republican representative. […]
Amber Iris Langston is on the front lines to legalize marijuana in Missouri
Amber Iris Langston became an activist at age 5. After learning her older brothers could take swimming lessons at the pool in her hometown of West Plains, Mo., but she couldn’t, she objected. “You had to be 6,” her mother, Janice Bowden, said. “And she staged an open protest. She started wandering over to the […]
Legalization proposal in Missouri lacks typical restrictions
While states that have already legalized recreational marijuana use must follow strict guidelines, Missouri activists want to propose a far different plan. Mark Pedersen, an author and influential activist, believes marijuana should not take the alcohol and tobacco route when legalizing. “I believe that cannabis needs to be as legal as corn or wheat,” Pedersen […]
