This KC-area city wants to ban public pot use. Voters should decide| Opinion
Independence wants to crack down on public consumption of marijuana, which on the surface isn’t the worst piece of legislation being considered in Missouri’s fifth-largest city.
But a state law already limits marijuana use to private residences. Statewide, public pot use is considered a minor civil infraction punishable by a $100 fine, a pretty reasonable penalty if you ask me. If Independence updates its municipal code, offenders there would be subjected to a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail for toking weed in public.
Instead of potentially putting pot smokers behind bars for months and fining them hundreds of dollars, Independence should just enforce the law already on the books. The Independence City Council must rescind this pending proposal and instead introduce one that would place the issue in front of voters.
In recent years, a majority of Independence residents have supported pro-police and pro-marijuana sales tax initiatives, so why exclude this extraordinary step from a public vote?
I have no issues with Missouri’s ban. Smoking pot in public should be illegal. In Independence, the idea of locking up local residents for lighting up a doob at a city park is ridiculous, though. Enforcing this proposed ordinance would not be a good use of police resources.
Other pressing police matters
Besides, the Independence Police Department has more important matters to tend to. Policing in this city needs a modern-day update, according to recent findings in a 75-page report issued by auditing firm Legal and Liability Risk Management Institute.
The audit found issues with several police department policies including those that cover vehicle and foot pursuits. The Star Editorial Board called on the IPD to put an immediate stop to the agency’s policy that allows officers to pursue fleeing drivers over minor traffic violations and other low-level, non-violent offenses.
On another related note: I am concerned about the disparate impact this ordinance would have on minority groups. In 2024, Independence police stopped Black and Hispanic drivers at a higher rate than white drivers, according to the Missouri attorney general’s annual vehicle stop report.
Although the report found Black and Hispanic motorists were subjected to searches at a higher rate, white drivers were actually more likely to possess contraband than their nonwhite counterparts.
Biased pot arrests?
Some may ask what vehicle stop data has to do with pot smoking in public. And it would be a fair question to ponder. But the answer is simple: Biased policing isn’t limited just to driving. There have been many incidents in the metropolitan area of minority people being questioned, arrested or brutalized by police while shopping, laughing or knocking on the wrong door while Black.
I would hate for this unfortunate phenomenon to spread to smoking pot.
At a recent Independence City Council meeting, the measure in question was unanimously approved. A second reading is expected Jan. 20. Giving police officers more tools to go after nonviolent offenders is not ideal. I am firmly against Independence making public pot use a criminal offense, and its residents should be too.
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 5:08 AM.
