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Kansas City, Missouri, Marijuana Possession Penalty Reduction, Question No. 5 (April 2017)
| Question 5: Marijuana Possession Penalty Reduction |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| April 4, 2017 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local marijuana |
| Related articles |
| Local marijuana on the ballot April 4, 2017 ballot measures in Missouri Jackson County, Missouri ballot measures |
| See also |
| Kansas City, Missouri |
A measure to reduce the punishments for possession of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia was on the ballot for Kansas City voters in Jackson County, Missouri, on April 4, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of limiting the punishment for possession or control of 35 grams or less of marijuana to $25 with no possibility of jail and removing marijuana from the prohibition against drug paraphernalia. |
| A no vote was a vote against limiting the punishment for possession or control of 35 grams or less of marijuana to $25 with no possibility of jail and removing marijuana from the prohibition against drug paraphernalia. |
This initiative was sponsored by a branch of a national group that advocates for marijuana legalization and decriminalization at all levels of government. As such, this initiative forms a key example of a group or corporation advancing a national or statewide agenda at the local level, which is an important narrative for local U.S. politics in 2017.
Initiatives to legalize medical and recreational marijuana at the statewide level were proposed for the 2018 ballot.
Election results
| Question 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 30,422 | 74.57% | ||
| No | 10,376 | 25.43% | ||
- Election results from Kansas City Elections Office
Overview
Initiative design
Question 5 was designed to establish the following maximum penalties for marijuana possession according to city law:[1]
| Amount | Jail time | Fine |
| 0g to 35g | No jail time | $25 |
| 35g or more | 180 days | $500 |
The initiative would also remove marijuana from the list of substances in association with which prohibited drug paraphernalia is defined in city law.
The initiative was not designed to change or supersede prohibitions and penalties established by state law.
Marijuana policy in Missouri
As of 2017, state law imposed the following maximum penalties for possession of marijuana:[2]
| Amount | Classification | Jail time | Fine |
| 0g to 10g (first offense) | Misdemeanor | No jail time | $500 |
| 0g to 10g (second offense) | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,000 |
| More than 10g to 35g | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,000 |
| More than 35g to 30 kg | Felony | 7 years | $10,000 |
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ | Shall the City of Kansas City limit the authorized punishment that can be imposed in the Municipal Court for the possession or control of 35 grams or less of marijuana to a maximum $25 fine, eliminate jail as a potential punishment for the possession or control of marijuana, and remove marijuana from the prohibition against drug paraphernalia? | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative ordinance is available here.
Support
The Kansas City branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) was behind this initiative.[4][5]
Supporters made the following arguments in support of Question 5:[5]
- it would allow law enforcement to focus on serious issues;
- the measure would eliminate jail time for marijuana offenses;
- the measure would help to eliminate discriminatory marijuana arrests.
Kansas City NORML Executive Director Jaime Kacz said, "Once you start talking to people about cannabis reform, you'd be surprised how many people are for it. It doesn't have to be Democrats or liberals, it's Republicans, it's religious people, it's elderly people."[4]
Opposition
Opponents of Question 5 made the following arguments against the initiative:[6]
- it was badly written and would result in complications and unintended negative effects;
- marijuana would remain illegal at the statewide level, which means that Question 5 might mislead some people into thinking they could use marijuana without consequences when, in fact, they could still be prosecuted;
- the measure does not answer enough questions or provide enough details and would be hard to enforce; and
- the initiative is unnecessary since there aren't very many arrests made for marijuana usage.
The Kansas City Star editorial board wrote the following:[6]
| “ |
But we think the petition committee is really interested in fully legalizing marijuana. That’s a complex question that should be debated at state and federal levels, not addressed in local ordinances that only nibble around the edges. Question 5 is a half-solution in search of a half-problem. We recommend a “no” vote at the polls Tuesday.[3] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a successful citizen initiative petition campaign. Supporters needed to collect valid signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for mayoral candidates in the preceding regular municipal election. This requirement amounted to 1,708 signatures.
The group submitted over 4,000 signatures in November 2016, and on December 1, 2016, the Kansas City clerk's office announced that enough signatures were verified as valid signatures from registered voters to send the initiative to the city council, which needed to approve the measure or put it before voters.[7][8]
On January 19, 2017, the Kansas City Council voted 12-1 to put the measure on the ballot at the election on April 4, 2017. January 19, 2017, was the deadline by which the council had to act to put the measure on the April ballot, with the next available election date in August of 2017.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kansas City Local marijuana Question No. 5. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kansas City Board of Elections Commissioners, "Sample Ballot School and Special Election April 4, 2017," accessed March 2, 2017
- ↑ NORML, "Missouri Laws & Penalties," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 KCUR, "Kansas City Marijuana Reformers Working Toward Decriminalization," January 24, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas City NORML, "Home," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kansas City Star, "Editorial: Marijuana proposal a bad solution to a nonproblem," March 29, 2017
- ↑ Kansas City Star, "Petition seeking vote to decriminalize pot in KC has enough signatures," December 1, 2016
- ↑ Kansas City Star, "Petition to reduce pot fines destined for KC ballot, but timing is uncertain," January 11, 2017
- ↑ Fox 4, "With only one ‘no’ vote, KC city council sends question about marijuana fines to voters," January 19, 2017
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