Missouri
Cannabis is not decriminalized on a statewide basis in Missouri, although since 1999, as with all other drugs in Missouri, first-time cases of possession of cannabis no longer are prosecuted in ordinary state court, but rather in specialized drug courts. By law, treatment, rather than punishment, is the express object of any drug court action in Missouri. Despite the drug courts, however, as it stands, simple possession of less than 35 grams of cannabis is a class-A misdemeanor in Missouri, theoretically punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of $1000.
In 2004, voters in the city of Columbia passed Proposition 2 by 61-39 percent. Proposition 2 made cannabis the "lowest priority" for law enforcement, and for possession of cannabis under 35 grams (1.25 ounces) of cannabis the offense was reduced municipally to a civil fine of a maximum of $250, with no possibility of criminal retribution, arrest, or incarceration. That law has since been revised, allowing only first time offenders to escape prosecution and instead pay the fine.
Read more about this topic: Places That Have Decriminalized Non-medical Cannabis In The United States
Famous quotes containing the word missouri:
“I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Then they seen it, the old Missouri River shinin’ in the moon and across it the lights of St. Louis.”
—Dudley Nichols (1895–1960)
“Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature—opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice.... Repeal the Missouri compromise—repeal all compromises—repeal the declaration of independence—repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man’s heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)