Missouri Courts Near Completion of Marijuana Expungement Process
Since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Missouri in 2022, courts have expunged over 140,000 marijuana-related cases. However, the process is nearing its end, with most counties having completed the bulk of the task.
As part of the 2022 constitutional amendment, courts were mandated to search their files for eligible marijuana-related charges and expunge them. Missouri’s largest counties have made significant progress, but some will continue to review their files this year.
Greene County Circuit Clerk Bryan Feemster stated that they are working on paper files from the mid-1980s and expect to complete the process midway through the year. However, there is no set date for when county courts must review their files.
The 16th Judicial Circuit in Jackson County completed their review of cases in December 2023, going back to 1989. They have also identified additional defendants who were released from probation and are reviewing their cases.
St. Louis County Court clerks are currently in the review and redetermination phase, determining what their next steps will be.
The Missouri Supreme Court estimates that about 307,000 cases have been reviewed, with 46% of those cases being expunged. However, this estimate does not include paper records, which are being reviewed manually.
Iron County Circuit Clerk Sammye White described the process of reviewing paper records as time-consuming, as she has to manually scan through hundreds of indexed records to identify potential marijuana-related charges. She then has to find the actual file and narrow down the list to those most likely to qualify for expungement.
With the majority of the process complete, Missouri courts are nearing the end of the marijuana expungement review.
