Two marijuana initiatives on Columbia ballot

The campaign to pass two marijuana policy reform initiatives in Columbia is moving along with broad support, having recently picked up the endorsement of the local League of Women Voters. If both measures pass, patients who use marijuana for medical purposes will be protected from arrest and prison; and adults who use small amounts of marijuana will not face the threat of prison, or the threat of losing student loans. Also, Columbia police will be instructed to make the enforcement of marijuana penalties their lowest priority.

(Click here to read press coverage of the initiative.)

But to make all this happen, the campaign needs your help. If you can lend assistance in any way, please e-mail Dan Viets, the director of the Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education (CAPE), or call him at (573) 819-2669.

You can also stop by the campaign office at:

15 North 10th St. Columbia, MO 65201

And if you're going to be in Columbia this Sunday, please stop by Mojo's for a CAPE fundraiser. A roomful of supporters will be on hand beginning at 3:00 p.m. for live music and an auction to benefit the campaign. Please call CAPE for details and directions.

If passed, CAPE's medical marijuana initiative will protect medical marijuana patients (who have their doctors' recommendations) in Columbia from arrest and criminal penalties. Click here to read the medical marijuana initiative.

The "smart sentencing" initiative will: (1) remove the threat of arrest for misdemeanor possession of marijuana (35 grams/1.25 ounces or less) and marijuana paraphernalia within the Columbia city limits and (2) reduce the penalty to a fine of up to $250. Currently, Missouri's penalty for misdemeanor marijuana possession is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Further, the initiative mandates that all misdemeanor marijuana cases be referred to municipal court rather than state court, thereby protecting offenders from losing federal financial aid for education. Currently, the Higher Education Act's (HEA's) drug provision denies financial aid to anyone convicted of a controlled substance violation on the state or federal level. Please click here to read the text of the initiative.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please forward this message on so even more voices for reform can be heard.