KC Mayor Quinton Lucas backs marijuana legalization amendment in final days of campaign
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas this week endorsed a Missouri ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
“The criminalization of marijuana over the years has led to, I think, terrible outcomes, particularly for the Black community in Missouri and throughout the country,” Lucas told The Star Friday.
“I think anything that gets us a step towards decriminalization, particularly gets us a step towards responsible decriminalization — much like we see here, where we have a chance to expunge records of folks, where I think we are trying to inject fairness into a system that has been unfair for generations — is an incredibly positive and important step for Missouri.”
Lucas’ endorsement was announced Thursday by the group Legal MO 22 along with the support of several state lawmakers and two St. Louis aldermen ahead of the Nov. 8 election. The lawmakers backing the amendment include those usually diametrically opposed on policies such as state Rep. Nick Schroer, an O’Fallon hard-right Republican, and state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat.
The constitutional amendment, listed on the ballot as Amendment 3, has divided some legalization advocates and progressive-leaning organizations over how the state should legalize marijuana.
The amendment has been endorsed by civil liberties groups such as the Missouri ACLU and Empower Missouri. But other groups, such as Pro-Choice Missouri and the Missouri NAACP, have said it doesn’t go far enough to address historic harms of marijuana criminalization.
Lucas’ endorsement of the measure marks his latest disagreement with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who in August criticized the ballot measure as “a disaster.”
The Nov. 8 ballot question will ask voters whether to amend the state constitution to legalize marijuana for adults over the age of 21. It would create a licensing program for who can legally sell or grow weed and would expunge the criminal records of people with past non-violent weed charges.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 11:21 AM.
