Decrim Proposed For Missouri
An update from Show-Me Cannabis, an organization working to reform cannabis policies in the State of Missouri:
We weren’t expecting an announcement about this until the bills are actually introduced next week, but it looks like the word is
out. Missouri Representative Rory Ellinger will be introducing a bill to lower the maximum penalty on possession of under 35 grams of cannabis to a $250 fine and recommend a suspended imposition of sentence.
This bill would essentially extend the decriminalization reforms passed in Columbia in 2004 (and the reforms that will likely pass in Saint Louis this spring) statewide.
Ellinger is also planing to introduce a bill that would allow people convicted of non-violent offenses, including cannabis offenses, to have those records expunged after five years. Dan Viets — the chairman of Show-Me Cannabis Regulation’s board of directors and a criminal defense attorney, who largely crafted Columbia’s reforms — has consulted with Ellinger about the language of these proposals. We intend to lobby heavily in favor of these bills in Jefferson City with all the resources we can raise!
– TheJointBlog