Did Missouri decriminalize?

Posted on May 21st, 2014 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

leaf Missouri has some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country, but became the latest state to remove criminal penalties for simple possession arrests on May 13, when a bill passed earlier this year by the legislature became law without Governor Jay Nixon’s signature. The new law, Senate Bill 491, eliminates jail time for possession of up to 10 grams on a first offense. The new law also reduces possible sentences related to sale and cultivation, lifting the current ban on probation or parole for those with third felony offenses. However, it will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, and the protections against incarceration only apply to those without prior marijuana convictions. Additionally, a possession charge will remain a criminal offense, merely reduced to a Class D misdemeanor from a Class A misdemeanor. The Marijuana Policy Project is saying the new law counts as "decriminalization," but Missouri attorney and NORML board member Dan Viets, who helped draft the bill, says, "Nobody should call this decriminalization." (CelebStoner, May 16; Daily Chronic, May 15)

In separate legislation, Missouri also became the latest state to allow use of extracts containing the cannabinoid CBD by patients whose epilepsy isn't relieved by other treatments. (KSDK, St. Louis, May 1)

Image: Jurist

 

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Killed by Missouri for growing marijuana?

Global Ganja Report's picture Missouri's Franklin County put Steven Sutherland behind bars for growing marijuana. This weekend, just under eleven months into his ten-year prison sentence, the 59-year-old passed away. Sutherland had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer, his son told Riverfront Times. But even before that, Sutherland had entered prison with an array of health problems. The June 2019 mugshot that guards snapped of him showed the convict—charged in 2015 for possessing all of 110 grams of marijuana and 21 plants—wearing an oxygen tube under his nose.
Comment by Global Ganja Report on May 12th, 2020 at 11:35 pm

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