A Missouri lawmaker on Tuesday filed a bill to decriminalize a range of drugs including marijuana, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and cocaine. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Peter Merideth (D), would amend state statute by making low-level possession of various drugs punishable by a maximum $100 fine or “participation in a treatment program” if approved by a court, or both. Currently, possessing any amount of controlled substances except marijuana is considered a class D felony that carries up to seven years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine. The bill lays out the specific possession amounts that would be decriminalized: up to 10 grams of cannabis, one gram of heroin, one gram of MDMA, two grams of methamphetamine, 40 units of LSD, 12 grams of psilocybin, 40 units of methadone, 40 oxycodone pills and two grams of cocaine. Possessing up to 10 grams of marijuana under current law is a misdemeanor but does not come with the threat of jail time, a policy that advocates often refer to as decriminalization even though it’s technically still a crime. The new legislation would formally reclassify the offense—as well as those for having small amounts of the other drugs—as an infraction.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/20/2022 10:53:00