Missouri voters in the election last November approved Amendment Three which in part legalized the retail sale of marijuana for adults ages 21 and older.
The measure also allows adults to possess up to three ounces of cannabis and to home-cultivate up to six flowering plants, six immature plants, and six plants under 14 inches for their own personal use. It also establishes a program to automatically review and expunge criminal records for eligible non-violent marijuana-related offenses. Thursday, June 8th was the deadline to do that in the Missouri courts. People on parole and probation will be the first to have records expunged of marijuana-related charges starting on Thursday.
After that, the process gets much more complicated.
According to the office of the State Courts Administrator, Buchanan County leads the state with more than 2,000 cases expunged. Clay County has topped 1,500. Several more counties including Audrain, Cooper, Carter, Greene, Laclede, McDonald, Pettis, Phelps, Saline, St. Charles, Scott, and St. Francois have each expunged at least 1,000 cases.
As of late last week, here’s a list of area counties and the number of marijuana-related cases expunged from the courts ranging from the highest to the lowest.
Livingston County at 366, Macon County 282, DeKalb County 238, Caldwell County 166, Carroll County 142, Grundy County 137, Daviess County 110, Linn County 91, Adair County 64, Clinton County 59, Sullivan County 33, Worth County 29, and Chariton County 6.
Some reportedly have not had any marijuana cases expunged. Those include four in north Missouri, which are Mercer, Putnam, Gentry, and Holt plus Hickory County in west central Missouri. The figures we reported are as of late last week.
Funding for the expungements was provided by the Missouri General Assembly in a supplemental appropriation earlier this year. A 6% statewide sales tax on adult-use marijuana was also included in Amendment 3’s language.
Courts will be reimbursed for any expenses occurred. Local jurisdictions like cities and counties have the option to seek voter approval of a three percent sales tax on sales of recreational marijuana.
