Missouri Black Leaders Divided Over Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure

“This amendment, despite having positive elements, reads like it was designed to benefit current vendors and license holders—not everyday people.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

In a move highlighting a growing divide among Black leaders and organizations in Missouri over a push to legalize marijuana, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones (D) on Tuesday announced she would oppose the measure appearing on the November 8 ballot as Amendment 3.

While she supports legalization, Jones said she doesn’t support etching what she believes is a potentially inequitable legalization process into the state’s constitution where “it can be difficult to alter.”

“If we choose the path of a constitutional amendment to resolve the matter of legalization, it would have to be forward-thinking, flexible and most of all, equitable,” Jones said in a statement. “This amendment fails to meet that lofty aim. Simply put, legalization does not equal decriminalization.”

Jones joins state Rep. Ashley Bland-Manlove (D), chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, who began advocating against Amendment 3 early on, as well as the Missouri NAACP, which announced its opposition last month.

Both argue the amendment will create the “permanent exclusion” of minorities from the cannabis industry.

Yet on the same day as Jones’s announcement, and on the other side of the state, Freedom Inc., a Black-led civil rights organization in Kansas City, announced its support of the amendment.

“Every day that goes by where cannabis is still illegal in Missouri, is a day when justice is not being served,” said Rodney Bland, president of Freedom Inc.

Freedom Inc. joins Action STL Power Project, the political-organizing engine that helped get Jones elected in April 2021, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) in praising the proposal’s measure to expunge marijuana charges from people’s criminal records.

And while the statewide NAACP opposes the amendment, the St. Louis city chapter has been among its most vocal proponents.

“If the world is changing and voters overwhelmingly believe marijuana should be legal, then clearing past convictions is a moral imperative,” said John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022.

The licensing process

At the heart of the opponents’ concern with Amendment 3 are caps on licenses to grow, transport and sell marijuana that were imposed by state regulators after voters created Missouri’s medical marijuana program in 2018.

The state decided to only issue the minimum number of licenses allowed for medical marijuana—60 cultivation licenses, 192 dispensary licenses and 86 manufacturing licenses. Since then, the state has issued around 20 additional licenses, including some which were ordered to be issued by the administrative hearing commission due to irregularities in the application scoring process.

Few licenses went to Black-owned businesses.

Amendment 3 would allow the state to continue capping licenses while giving current medical marijuana license holders first dibs on the more lucrative recreational licenses.

“This amendment, despite having positive elements, reads like it was designed to benefit current vendors and license holders—not everyday people,” Jones said. “I recognize the problems and stratification created by the amendment’s licensing system.”

I meant de-criminalization.

Where Elon Musk with the edit button when you need it? LOL!

— Tishaura O. Jones (she/her) (@tishaura) November 2, 2022

Nimrod Chapel, Jr., president of the Missouri NAACP, said after his organization announced its opposition to Amendment 3 that the proposal has the financial backing of many of the state’s largest medical marijuana license holders who are trying to “carve out the entire market for themselves.”

“They’re certainly Caucasian run, led and owned,” he said of the current medical marijuana license holders, “and minority participation has been completely left out of the equation.”

Amendment 3 supporters say the system’s racial inequities would be addressed through the 144 “micro licenses,” where applicants must be a resident from a ZIP code with high marijuana incarceration rates or meet other such requirements.

“That’s why I support it and pushed for the micro licenses piece,” Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP chapter, said in an interview with The Independent last month, “because the micro license dictates that it goes to people who have been disadvantaged.”

Currently, one of the biggest struggles for many smaller medical marijuana companies is obtaining capital. Marijuana is still illegal on a federal level, so bank loans are not an option, Pruitt said.

Regarding the caps, Pruitt said it’s the state Department of Health and Senior Services that is capping the licenses, not the amendment language itself.

However, Chapel argues the companies funding the Amendment 3 campaign will lobby to keep the caps in place that have shut Black businesses out.

“It’s the keep-rich-people-rich bill,” Chapel said.

In the month before Election Day, Legal Missouri has raised $1.3 million from businesses involved in the marijuana industry. It has reported spending more than $1.4 million, with most of that going towards media buys.

Save Our State, the political action committee formed in September to oppose Amendment 3, has not reported raising any money.

Expungement provision

Amendment 3 also includes a process for Missourians with nonviolent marijuana-related offenses to automatically expunge their criminal records.

It would set up a timeline for when courts have to expunge records depending on the class of offenses, where misdemeanor offenses would be adjudicated first. The courts would have one year to order the expungements of people who are not in jail or on parole or probation.

The fees and tax revenues from the marijuana program would go towards paying for expungements, according to the petition.

Supporters say the expungement measures are among the most far-reaching yet proposed in the nation.

“The War on Drugs has been primarily waged against people of color, and it’s time for the madness to end,” said Garrett Griffin, spokesman for Communities Creating Opportunities, in the joint statement with Freedom Inc. “Just as no one should have been rotting in prison in the 1920s over alcohol, no Missourian or American should be punished for using marijuana.”

These #expungement measures are among the most far-reaching to date in nationwide #cannabis legalization measures, and represent a critical #criminaljusticereform for our state. Funds from the cannabis sales tax revenue will cover the costs of the #automaticexpungement program.

— Legal Missouri 2022 (@LegalMo22) November 2, 2022

Critics say expungement is key to marijuana legalization, but argue Amendment 3 doesn’t go far enough.

Chapel pointed to a provision in the petition that states the funding for expungement is contingent on approval from the legislature and governor’s office.

And expungement, Chapel said, doesn’t appear to be their priority.

“I just look back at how the medical marijuana licensing process has gone, and it is full of nothing but controversy,” Chapel said. “I don’t have any expectation that the expungement program—which the legislature and perhaps the governor are not fully behind—would be run in any different or better way than the medical marijuana debacle.”

Payne said getting the legislature to make this appropriation doesn’t concern him because the funds “can’t be spent elsewhere.”

Opponents also expressed frustration that Amendment 3 includes certain penalties for marijuana use that, because they will be included in the state constitution, will be difficult to fix.

A change to the constitution must be approved by a statewide vote. Issues can be placed on the ballot either by the legislature or through the initiative petition process—which Chapel noted can be an expensive and time-consuming process.

“There seems to be a real spirit that this is good enough or this is going to be a good start,” Chapel said of Amendment 3. “But this is our constitution. It’s kind of a big deal, and I think that it’s worth our time to get it right.”

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.

Biden Says His Marijuana Pardons Have Improved Black Americans’ Lives, But He Overstates Real-Life Impact

Small Business Owners Strongly Support Record Sealing For Marijuana And Other Drug Offenses, Poll Finds

Small business owners in states from Pennsylvania to Texas are strongly in favor creating pathways to allow people to seal their state and federal records for marijuana, drug and other non-violent offenses, according to a new poll.

With ongoing labor shortages from the coronavirus pandemic affecting industries across the country, small business owners seem especially open to finding ways to attract and retain workers. Having a criminal record that a person is required to disclose for employment can disincentivize people from even applying.

The survey from the non-profit organization Small Business Majority, which represents a network of more than 85,000 businesses, found that an average of three in four small business owners across the six states that were polled support criminal justice reform to address that issue.

The poll asked about record sealing for federal and state offenses separately, but the results are nearly the same. Respondents were asked whether they would support or oppose legislation to create a petition process for people to “seal their records of nonviolent offenses, nonviolent cannabis, and drug offenses, and arrest records for those who have been acquitted.”

For the state-specific option, 77 percent said that they would support such legislation, including 36 percent who said they’d “strongly” support it. For the federal court question, 76 percent said they back the proposal, including 33 percent who indicated strong support.

This isn’t necessarily a nationally representative survey because it only involves small business owners in six specific states. However, those states are ideologically distinct, which could be interpreted as a reflection of how the reforms have broad support across the political spectrum. The states that participated were Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Almost 80 percent of small business owners also said that removing barriers to employment for people with criminal records would save tax dollars by “reducing recidivism and the need for long-term government assistance.” A majority of respondents (71 percent) further recognized that the criminal legal system disproportionately impacts minorities.

Read more on how #smallbiz owners support #CriminalJusticeReform to address persistent workforce challenges https://t.co/9DJ2WwvkN4

— Small Business Majority (@SmlBizMajority) October 26, 2022

“Enacting policies that help us tap into a larger pool of candidates only makes sense,” John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, said in a press release on Wednesday. “Smaller firms widely support legislation that improves second-chance hiring opportunities for justice-impacted individuals, opening the candidate pool to those eager to contribute to their local economy and community.”

The poll involved interviews with 850 small business owners across six states from September 13-20, with a +/-4 percentage point margin of error.

Lawmakers in several states have moved to facilitate the clearing of conviction records, especially for marijuana as the legalization movement continues to spread. California’s governor signed record sealing legislation this summer, for example. In Virginia, courts have sealed tens of thousands of cannabis distribution records over the past year.

A key committee in the U.S. House of Representatives also approved a series of criminal justice reform bills last month—including a bipartisan proposal to clear records for prior federal marijuana convictions.

President Joe Biden recently issued a mass pardon for people who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses, though that doesn’t have the same effect as record sealing or expungements.

He said on Sunday that his clemency “changed the lives of thousands of people.” However, he separately signaled last week that he would not extend pardons to people who sold marijuana, despite calls for expanded relief from advocates.

DEA Faces New Legal Challenges Over Denying Psilocybin Rescheduling Petition And Doctor’s Federal Waiver Request

Here’s Where Maine’s US Senate Candidates Stand On Marijuana

In the race for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat, Republican State Sen. Eric Brakey has made marijuana a front-and-center issue, positioning himself as more pro-reform than his Democratic-caucusing opponent, independent incumbent U.S. Sen. Angus King.

Brakey has been particularly vocal about cannabis law reform on Twitter, where he’s articulated a clear pro-legalization stance. “I supported cannabis legalization and I have supported implementation of sales,” Brakey tweeted in one response to a constituent. “I would love to see those proceeds used to support healthcare services for our most vulnerable: our seniors and intellectually disabled.”

Brandon, I supported cannabis legalization and I have supported implementation of sales. I would love to see those proceeds used to support healthcare services for our most vulnerable: our seniors and intellectually disabled.

— Sen. Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) November 8, 2017

The state senator’s support for cannabis law reform seems to stem from his loyalty to states’ rights, specifically in reference to the 10th Amendment, which details that power not delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the states or to the people.

“In a free society, we don’t throw people in cages for life choices we disagree with,” Brakey tweeted. “Washington DC has no constitutional authority on cannabis policy and needs to leave us all alone.”

Brakey even wrote an op-ed at the beginning of the year, slamming U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s crackdown as a dangerous step backward and, no less, “unconstitutional.”

“The federal government should not be interfering when states’ economic growth comes from a substance that is only legal for adults, and poses very little danger to one’s health compared to other legal substances like alcohol,” he wrote.

Yes. The Constitution never gave Washington DC the authority to set cannabis policy in the first place. #10thAmendment means the states should decide those policies.

— Sen. Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) June 4, 2018

In a free society, we don’t throw people in cages for life choices we disagree with. #cannabis#mepolitics

— Sen. Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) June 2, 2018

Brakey’s support for cannabis law reform goes beyond his penchant for states’ rights, and stems also from his concerns surrounding criminal justice reform. “I’ve sponsored #CriminalJusticeReform legislation in Maine to allow expungement of low-level, non-violent convictions after 5 years out with no re-offense. And I do believe we should pardon and expunge non-violent cannabis convictions,” he tweeted in June, hinting as well at the gross racial disparities inherent in the War on Drugs.

“White and blacks both use cannabis at similar rates, yet black Americans are convicted for these offenses at far higher rates. We need to rethink this whole system of throwing people in jail for victimless crimes,” he added.

You are right that we still have work to do in securing our liberties. Washington DC has no constitutional authority on cannabis policy and needs to leave us all alone.

— Sen. Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) January 31, 2018

And in light of the looming election season, Brakey took a recent jab at King, as well, noting his opponent’s belated support for expanded cannabis research, two decades after the state voted to legalize the drug’s medical use.

After nearly 20 years since Maine people passed the medical marijuana law, I’m glad to hear that Angus King FINALLY supports medical marijuana research. What else is Angus King 20 years late on? #MEPoliticspic.twitter.com/kdrHRFHuxT

— Sen. Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) August 20, 2018

At home in Maine, where voters legalized marijuana at the ballot box in 2016, Brakey has displayed support for cannabis legislation, such as when he co-chaired the committee that drafted a medical marijuana reform bill, which headed to the governor’s desk this past spring.

On the other hand, King, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, has been less of a trailblazer when it comes to marijuana.

King has never tweeted about cannabis but he has cosponsored a handful of Senate bills related to the issue.

Among the pieces of legislation he has supported are the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act of 2015, which would provide protections for state medical cannabis laws and make other reforms. He signed onto the current Congress’s version of the bill in June.

In July, he cosponsored the VA Medical cannabis Research Act of 2018, aimed at furthering research into the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana for veterans with PTSD and chronic pain.

“We owe it to our veterans who need medical assistance to do everything we can to help them face their challenges in healthy, productive ways, including research into alternative treatments that may help ease their pain,” King said in a statement about the legislation. “Maine’s veterans have earned nothing less than our complete support, and we must explore every possible avenue to help them.”

In 2016, he joined a bipartisan group of senators by signing onto a letter asking the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to clarify guidance for banks that deal with cannabis businesses. “Forcing all these direct and indirect businesses to operate in cash not only creates a huge target for criminals, but also complicates the collection of state and federal taxes,” the cohort wrote. “[New guidance to banks] will not only bolster the safety of our communities, but it will also help to spur economic growth across the country.”

Also, along with nearly a third of the Senate, he cosponsored a bill to legalize industrial hemp this year.

Nonetheless, King has earned a C grade from NORML.

In 2014 a King spokesman said the senator was still holding out on supporting federal legalization, which “must be thought through carefully and comprehensively,” and that “he is interested to see the effects of legalization in places like Colorado and Washington, as data emerges that will better inform the decision-making process on this issue.”

Last year, his spokesman said that King “believes the federal government should not interfere with state laws on this issue, and instead give states the ability to make and implement policy based on the wishes of their citizens.” He added that “a growing body of evidence suggesting that cannabinoids can be effective in treating a number of conditions, such as epilepsy and cancer, and he is troubled by the administration’s recent statements indicating a desire to crack down on states where medical marijuana has been legalized.”

But the senator himself, when asked about marijuana policy by Rolling Stone last year, brushed off the question. “That was a state issue – they made the decision up there, so I’m not going to comment,” he said.

To be sure, King’s support for modest marijuana reforms has remained relatively tepid, and he hasn’t sponsored legislation to protect his state’s broader recreational legalization law from federal inferences, indicating that the issue is not among his priorities.

For Democrats who rank marijuana reform as a top issue, this election may be a tough call, with cannabis-concerned voters forced to choose between a very pro-legalization Republican and a lukewarm Democrat-caucusing independent.

It is worth noting that also running is Zak Ringelstein, a Democrat who supports decriminalizing drugs and federally legalizing marijuana, according to his campaign website and social media posts. He is, however, polling in single digits, according to public surveys—far behind King and Brakey—and doesn’t appear to enjoy strong support from national party organs like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Here’s Where Indiana’s US Senate Candidates Stand On Marijuana