Recreational Marijuana sales now legal in Missouri
Last week, as a part of Amendment 3, which Missourians voted in favor of last November, the recreational sale of marijuana became legal in the state of Missouri.
The amendment expunges criminal records of individuals arrested for possession of marijuana, prohibits law enforcement from searching a vehicle purely on the suspicion that the substance is in a vehicle, and makes the sale of recreational marijuana via dispensaries legal. You must be 21 to legally purchase marijuana and cannot be in possession of more than three ounces of the substance at any one time.
As opposed to legalizing marajuana through a law, the Missouri state legislature let the decision fall upon the people of Missouri in the form of a constitutional amendment. Peter Joy, a Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Clinic at Washington University Law, explained that constitutional amendments are much harder to overturn than laws.
WashU students and faculty members reacted to the news in a variety of ways, ranging from highly positive to skeptical. Senior Sophie Conroy, Executive Director of the WashU Political Review (WUPR), expressed that the amendment is written in a way that is unfair to those trying to get permits in order to open dispensaries.
Marijuana became medically legal in Missouri in November of 2018, after Missourians voted in favor of Amendment 2. Amendment 3 uses Ammendment 2’s legal precedent of dispensary permit distribution as a guide for how to give out permits in 2023 for those interested.
Conroy called the process “unfair,” as she said the vast majority of permits were given to white-owned businesses.
Sophomore William VanDyke echoed Conroy’s sentiment by explaining that “the benefits of the legal [marijuana] business are generally not accessible to those people who were selling marijuana when it was illegal.”
Conroy ultimately voted in favor of Amendment 3 because it expunges the records of those incarcerated on simple marijuana possession charges. Joy also discussed how Amendment 3 will impact the way law enforcement can arrest people in relation to marijuana.
According to Joy, it is now illegal for an officer to pull over a vehicle just because they smell the odor of marijuana. Furthermore, police dogs formerly used to detect marijuana either have to be re-trained, or be transferred to the Transportation Security Administration so they can be used to detect marijuana at U.S. federal borders.
Joy hasn’t seen WashU, which follows federal regulations, release any statements about Missouri’s recent legalization of marijuana. In terms of it becoming legal at the federal level, he responded that “It’s a fool’s mission to try and predict what the U.S. Congress is going to do.” He believes that, given the filibuster rule in the Senate and other laws, it is unlikely that marijuana will become recreationally legal in the near future.
Six different students said that state-wide legalization would likely have no significant impact on who is currently smoking. Student Y, a senior, said that he “[sees the decision] being more impactful for the city at large.” He described how students are “incredibly privileged” and face “virtually zero consequences” when they smoke marijuana on campus.
Four different students, however, said that the legalization of marijuana will make things more convenient and safer. “I feel like people will always find a way to get something if they want it. So, by legalizing weed, it makes it way easier,” Student G, a WashU senior, said. Student E, another senior, said that “making [marijuana] illegal makes it easier to get in a more dangerous way — and since people want to do it anyway, making it legal is a good move [because it would be safer].”
VanDyke said that legalizing weed will make him a lot less anxious when smoking in public.
Multiple students expressed that they are hopeful of the impacts that the decriminalization of marijuana will have on incarcerated people. Student E mentioned how “criminalizing [marijuana] just isn’t the answer, and produces harmful results in terms of incarceration.” Student Y wants to see most substances decriminalized.
“Criminalization is not the answer. It directly harms so many people, and there are different ways to work with communities [while maintaining the] responsible management of substances,” he said.
