For the fourth year in a row, medical marijuana legislation has been introduced in Missouri. In each of the last three years a medical marijuana bill has been introduced, but assigned to committee too late to be heard.

So what’s different this year? The bill (HB 1670) is again sponsored by Rep. Kate Meiners, but while last year’s legislation had only 10 co-sponsors, this year’s has 17. There’s also bipartisan support; Rep. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph) brings his expertise as a doctor to the bill. There’s also support from outside the legislature. Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber (who displayed MPP’s holiday card on his desk this year) has placed two resolutions on the ballot in his hometown in support of medical marijuana. Proposition C will ask voters whether they support a bill in the legislature that would allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes under certain conditions. Proposition V asks whether Cottleville residents support the idea of putting the medical marijuana legalization issue on the statewide election ballot in November. The measures will be voted on on April 6th.

As for the bill itself, it would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug in the state of Missouri. It would also allow patients with serious diseases like cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease, and glaucoma to use medical marijuana pursuant to a physician's recommendation. Registered patients and caregivers would be allowed to possess up to seven marijuana plants (three mature and four immature) and 1 ounce of usable marijuana per mature plant. Also of note, the bill would establish a system of state-regulated non-profit distribution centers so that patients would not be forced to buy marijuana from drug dealers as in other states.

This will be Rep. Ron Richard’s (R-Joplin) second year as Speaker of the House. Last year he followed his predecessors' lead by failing to give this compassionate bill a chance. Please call or e-mail his office to let him know that you want this year to be different; that you this compassionate bill assigned to committee for the hearing patients deserve.

Marijuana laws in Missouri

Missouri has some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country. Possession of any amount of marijuana — even as little as a gram — can be punished by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Possession of over 35 grams — about 1.25 ounces — is a felony subject to a seven-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine. You can read more about the effect of Missouri’s harsh marijuana laws (like the fact that over 91% of marijuana arrests in Missouri are for simple possession) in this 2009 report by Jon Gettman, Ph.D.

Perhaps the worst part about Missouri’s harsh marijuana laws is that the state treats people who use marijuana to treat a serious medical condition as common recreational users. As a result, Kenneth Wells, a 56 year-old Missouri resident with a seizure disorder and no criminal record is on trial, facing up to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor and judge in his case decided the fact that Mr. Wells was using marijuana to treat his seizure disorder is irrelevant under Missouri law, and as a result he won’t be able to tell the jury about his condition or present evidence form a neurologist who planned to testify as to marijuana’s potential in treating Mr. Wells’ condition.

You can change all this by asking House Speaker Ron Richard to assign HB 1670 to a committee for a hearing.