Kansas City now a step closer to ending penalties for marijuana possession
Saying Black people are disproportionately cited for marijuana possession, several City Council members on Wednesday threw their support behind Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ proposal to remove marijuana offenses from the city code.
Lucas has already initiated a marijuana pardon program, and in 2017, voters decided overwhelmingly to reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of pot to a $25 fine. Last week, Lucas proposed ending all penalties for marijuana possession.
The council’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee voted Wednesday in favor of the proposal. The full council is expected to consider the issue next month.
“When I attended college, I was at a majority-white college and saw … a significant amount of usage of marijuana, and it seemed as if it was treated somewhat differently than those who were right outside of the boundaries of my college,” Lucas said, adding that “almost no one” at his school, Washington University in St. Louis, faced penalties for possession.
The discussion comes as cities across the U.S. confront the relationships between their police departments and minority residents. In response to a series of protests over racism, police brutality and the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Lucas signed onto a series of demands to enact police and community reforms.
Taking Kansas City out of the business of prosecuting marijuana possession, Lucas said, could improve community relations with police.
He noted a study by the American Civil Liberties Union that says Black people are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession despite using the drug at rates similar to white people.
“This is, again, an opportunity for us to address some of the racial injustices that are happening,” Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, 3rd District, said.
One of the main groups that supported the reduced penalties in 2017, however, expressed concerns.
Jessica Kelly, communications director for the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML KC, said removing marijuana from the city code would remove the “protections” of the language that reduced penalties for possession of less 35 grams.
“If this protection is removed, people in KCMO could be charged under the statewide language where only a first time offense of up to 10 grams is decriminalized as a misdemeanor drug charge with a fine of up to $500 and subsequent offenses having much harsher penalties,” Kelly said.
Kelly added: “We applaud Mayor Lucas for wanting to take action on this issue but are concerned about the potential unintended consequences.”
The proposal also faced opposition from the Kansas City Police Department. Capt. Scott Simons said it could “create a lot of public confusion.”
Removing marijuana from the city code would not make it legal under state and federal law, and individuals could still be charged with crimes through those systems.
“So when we sit there and say that we can’t charge them at a municipal level, they may be under the impression that they can … do it because it’s only a small amount,” Simons said. “But we still are able to stop and investigate that.
“I would also be deeply concerned that would complicate relationships to an extent.”
Simons added that there is “still a lot of violent crime that’s associated to narcotics.”
He said Kansas City police can attribute four homicides this year to marijuana. So far this year, 92 people have been victims of homicide.
Councilwoman Heather Hall, 1st District, was the only committee member to vote against the proposal, arguing marijuana use is “not healthy.”
She asked that the committee hold the issue for a week so they could look at data regarding other offenses people have been charged with in conjunction with marijuana tickets. But the committee decided to move forward.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
