Kansas City Voters Decriminalize Marijuana

Kansas City Voters Decriminalize Marijuana

Kansas City voters have passed an initiative to decriminalize marijuana.

Marijuana will soon be decriminalized in Missouri’s most populated city after voters gave approval tonight to Question 5. The initiative decriminalizes the possession of up to 35 grams of cannabis for those 21 and older, making it a simple $25 ticket. Under current law possessing 10 to 35 grams is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail; possessing less than 10 grams is a misdemeanor but with no jail time for a first offense, although subsequent offense can result in up to a year in jail.

Below is the exact ballot question approved by voters:

Shall the City of Kansas City limit the authorized punishment that can be imposed in the Municipal Court for the possession or control of 35 grams or less of marijuana to a maximum $25 fine, eliminate jail as a potential punishment for the possession or control of marijuana, and remove marijuana from the prohibition against drug paraphernalia?

Kansas City is the 35th most populated city in the United States with roughly 467,000 residents.

On the state level, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander gave approval in January to an initiative that would legalize cannabis for those 21 and older. Kander’s approval gave advocates the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures in an attempt to put the proposal to a vote of the people; they must collect roughly 82,000 signatures by May, 2018 to place it on the November, 2018 ballot.