Prosecutors Drop Charge Against Marijuana Petitioners

By Paul Friswold Mon., Jan. 23 2012 at 10:34 AM

Looks like peaceful protest still works. On Saturday morning, St. Charles City Attorney Mike Valenti officially dropped charges against two Show-Me Cannabis Regulation volunteers who were cited by police for "soliciting without a permit" on Sunday, January 15. The two were in fact gathering signatures on a petition in support of a ballot initiation to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana in Missouri, as we reported here.

The city's move comes on the heels of SMCR returning to North Main Street on Friday night to peacefully gather more signatures, and collectively exercise their First Amendment rights in a lawful and productive manner.

Valenti issued an official statement via email: "The City views this matter as an isolated incident and fully respects citizens' First Amendment right to lawfully collect petition signatures on public sidewalks."

Tags:

cannabis, civil rights, St. Charles

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Steven Sharpe

Kestrel Car made in Canada is a fine example of it. Missouri was a great State to farm Hemp in and get back to some jobs we all need. Making clothing, car parts, textile and so much more. We have not even hit on the medical aspects of Marijuana yet. GW Pharmaceuticals have but we are so far behind because our government (DEA) won't let testing of a plant be done in the US. Please sign and help by finding a place in your town or making one in your town to sign a petition to ge this on the ballot so everyone can vote. And then make sure everyone you know registers to vote and then take them there. Make 2012 count. So many states are going for the same thing the Great Stare of Missouri stands for, Show me. It does cure cancer, www.nci.gov will tell you so.

Steven Sharpe

If people want to get high, they are going to. No prison in the US can stop it. It is time to legalize it and really get down to some hemp farming in every State, including Michigan.

jway

Has not a single one of our federal officials traveled to The Netherlands and observed that the coffeeshops are NO BIG DEAL? The federal marijuana prohibition is BAD law that makes kids LESS safe!

States that have passed medical marijuana laws have seen a 9% drop in alcohol-related traffic fatalities. We can save a LOT of lives by giving people the right to substitute marijuana for alcohol.

Marijuana has repeatedly been proven to NOT cause cancer, heart disease, brain damage, liver disease, emphysema, or any other significant health issue, and its addiction potential is about on par with coffee. We mustn't wait until a loved one has been harmed by alcohol before demanding that our legislators legalize adult marijuana sales!

handsome jimmy

Pretty sure when legalization finally sweeps the USA, good ole Missouri will be the 50th state to give it up. Until then, I am walking around with an illegal smile.

Elmer Fittery

I wonder how the St. Charles City Attorney Mike Valenti feels about Newt Gingrich's statement that Marijuana distributors should be subject to the death penalty. Legalize Marijuana in MO!