A city alderwoman has filed a bill that will “effectively legalize” marijuana in the city of St. Louis Five On Your Side has learned.
Ward 15 Alderwoman Megan Green says she has filed a bill that will be introduced Friday at the Board of Alderman meeting. The bill would prohibit the use of city resources to enforce laws prohibiting the use of marijuana.
“We have real crime to deal with in this city,” Green said, adding that police should not be spending time and resources on a substance that is now considered legal in many cities and states. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law but federal officials are not currently enforcing those laws under a practice that began under the Obama administration.
Green said she has at least six co-sponsors for her legislation and is confident it can pass the full board.
“We’ve never felt like it was a good idea to put people in jail for something 33 million Americans do,” said Howard Weismann with NCADA.
But when it comes to marijuana use, Weismann said his worry is not the decriminalization but commercialization of pot.
“While it's commonly used, it's also commonly abused and misused,” said Weismann. “A growing minority of people develop lifelong problems with this drug.”
Green said legalized marijuana may help with the abuse of another drug: opioids. She points to studies that show a decline in opioid overdoses in cities and states where pot is legal. But Weismann said even the authors of those studies say the correlation needs more investigation.
