KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, City Council committee Wednesday put on hold a proposal that would loosen the rules regarding marijuana possession within city limits.
The amended ordinance, proposed by Councilman Brandon Ellington, would decriminalize the possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana in Kansas City, Missouri. The current ordinance, which voters approved in 2017, sets a maximum fine of $25 and no jail time for the possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana. If found in possession of more than that, a person can be fined up to $500.
Under the proposed amendment, a person would not be fined unless found to be in possession of 100 grams or more of marijuana. The proposal also includes an exception for medical marijuana after Missouri voters approved its legalization last year.
"We're not talking about the cartel leaders, we're not talking about major drug traffickers — we're talking about people that get anywhere between a (class) C or B felony," Ellington said.
The council’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee voted to hold the amended ordinance for another month. Ellington said he was not calling the decision a setback.
Last fall, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it would no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases, with a few exceptions.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, who took office in August, also campaigned on plans to pardon those who were convicted of marijuana possession before voters approved decriminalizing the possession of small amounts in April 2017.
However, marijuana possession is still a crime under state and federal policy.
Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith pushed back Wednesday against arguments that the decriminalization of marijuana would lead to a decrease in violent crime. In a blog post, he wrote that 10 homicides so far this year “have been directly motivated by marijuana” and the number of non-deadly shootings linked to pot “are even greater.”
“The common argument is that this violence would cease if marijuana were simply legalized,” Smith wrote. “The data from states that have done so, however, show just the opposite is happening.”
Smith cited statistics in Colorado, Oregon and Washington that found homicides in the three states increased significantly following the legalization of recreational marijuana. In Colorado, Smith wrote, marijuana-related traffic deaths also increased 151% after legalization.
“Legalization is no panacea, and has in fact increased crime and drugged driving in the states where it has happened,” Smith wrote. “…There is nothing to prove the rise in violent crime was caused by legalized recreational marijuana in the states that have experienced it. But the correlation is undeniable.”
While the committee considers the intricacies of the proposal, Ellington is calling for more supporters.
"I'm not going to call it a setback because whenever you have these, many people that don't typically get engaged in local politics that get involved in local politics, I don't see it as a setback. I see it as a win," Ellington said.
The committee will discuss the ordinance again on Oct. 23.
