Fourth Ward Columbia city councilman Michael Trapp suggests the city lobby in Jefferson City for a change in state law allowing the sale and use of medical marijuana. Trapp also wants the council to support a statewide legalization petition in case the state does not act on its own to pass the law.
Trapp, the former director of Phoenix House substance abuse treatment program, argues controlled use of marijuana can help avoid opioid abuse by giving doctors a safer, better option for patients.
Trapp also says legalizing medical marijuana will improve interaction between police and the community by removing the threat of arrest for minor drug offenses to get information. In this context he calls medical cannabis reform part of community policing.
The expanded use and legalization of marijuana is catching hold across the nation. Several states have legalized recreational use of marijuana with satisfying results. The trend seems irreversible. Medical permission is the safest way to start and the safest way for politicians to nudge up to the issue is to approve a statewide petition drive.
And make no mistake. Missouri politicians, finally, will take the safest way possible.
I’ve long advocated legalization of all drugs as a way to counter the black market responsible for most of the street crime in America, but so far our esteemed leaders are determined to keep spending billions on the counterproductive war on drugs. In most jurisdictions, including our own, they don’t have the courage even to pass a law regarding marijuana, let alone other drugs, so Trapp’s fall back push for a statewide petition campaign to legalize medical cannabis is the most likely avenue.
Trapp thinks most people now favor legalizing marijuana for medical use. The state legislature can find out by sponsoring a petition campaign to pass a law. This sort of referendum is the most timorous move our solons can make. They can do this without urging passage, merely an effort to “find out what people think and want.”
Will they take this simple step, or will they dig in heels determined to keep Missouri at the back of the pack? Good for Micheal Trapp for putting those feet a bit closer to the fire.
credit:420intel.com
