St. Louis lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession and cultivation for adults. The Board of Aldermen voted 23-0 on the final passage of the cannabis measure, days after giving it preliminary approval. The proposal from Alderman Bret Narayan (D) wouldn’t change Missouri state laws that continue to criminalize marijuana, but local ordinances penalizing low-level possession and cultivation would be repealed. “This bill basically just harmonizes our local ordinance with the state’s constitution, as well as further decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana,” Narayan said ahead of the vote on Tuesday. “It has the buy-in from the public safety director, it has the buy-in from the director of personnel. We’ve talked to basically every stakeholder along the way.” Adults 21 and older could possess up to two ounces of marijuana without facing the civil penalty that’s currently in place. It would also make it so that “no resources” could be spent to punish adults for cultivating up to six flowering plants. Further, the proposal would permit city employees who are medical cannabis patients to present their state-issued ID cards “to avoid adverse employment actions based on a positive drug test for marijuana.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 11/23/2021 12:52:00