ST. LOUIS — On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced his plan to pardon thousands of people federally charged with simple possession of marijuana and called on governors to do the same.
Since marijuana is fully legal in Illinois there are avenues for going a step further than a pardon and expunging the charge altogether.
Marijuana is not fully legal in Missouri expungement is not quite as simple but that could change after the election.
State Representative Ron Hicks said President Biden’s move to pardon federal charges of simple marijuana possession is a step in the right direction but most charges involving marijuana are prosecuted in state court.
“I think the states should do the same. If it's a non-violent crime for marijuana, release them," Hicks said. "We're spending a lot more money by having them incarcerated and doing more damage to them, and their personal lives than we are ever going to imagine."
In response to President Biden’s action, a spokesperson for Governor Mike Parson's office said in a statement:
“In Missouri, those with criminal records can apply for expungement under state law. Governor Parson has used his state constitutional authority to grant pardons to individuals who demonstrate a changed lifestyle, commitment to rehabilitation, contrition, and contribution to their communities – rather than as a blanket approach to undermine existing law.”
Dan Viets, with the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said Missouri’s current expungement process can be expensive and time-consuming something Amendment 3 could change if passed by voters.
“Amendment 3 on November 8 ballot would regulate and tax the use of marijuana by adults, it would allow adults to cultivate for themselves, it would also expunge hundreds of 1000s of Missourians arrest and conviction records for low-level marijuana offenses,” Viets said.
St. Louis NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt said he supports the president's action and Amendment 3.
“If we pass Amendment 3, we are righting most of the wrongs that should have been dealt with some time ago," Pruitt said. "Unfortunately, Amendment 3 only eliminates the stigma and the arrest and takes it off the record."
"I just wish that it had the opportunity to do more,” Pruitt said.
President Biden also started the process of re-scheduling marijuana.
Right now, it's a Schedule I drug, a list that is reserved for very dangerous drugs like heroin.
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