Missouri courts have expunged more than 140,000 cannabis criminal cases since the passage of the constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis was approved by voters in 2022, the Missouri Independent reports. Under the amendment, courts were mandated to review court files for eligible cannabis-related charges and remove convictions from criminal records.
Bryan Feemster, Greene County Circuit Clerk, told the Independent that the county “may be nearing completion midway this year” but officials “can’t be sure how many are left.”
Scott Lauck, spokesman for 16th Judicial Circuit in Jackson County, said the clerks there completed their review of cases in December 2023. Cases in Jackson County dated back to 1989, he said.
John O’Sullivan, spokesman for the St. Louis County Court, said clerks are in the “review and redetermination phase, to determine what review of our next group of cases will look like.”
The Missouri Supreme Court estimates that about 307,000 cases have been reviewed – which would mean counties have expunged 46% of the cases they reviewed – but that estimate doesn’t include paper records.
According to expungement data tabulated by the Independent, many counties are deeming more cases ineligible for expungement than eligible – in some cases by the thousands. For example, in Jefferson County, 8,259 cases have been reviewed with just 808 expunged so far and 7,451 deemed ineligible. Only seven counties – Atchison, Callaway, Clark, Holt, Monroe Nodaway, and Randolph – have expunged all of the cases they have reviewed.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe
Ganjapreneur is made possible by our partners:
