JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri prosecutors on Thursday came out against Amendment 3, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state if voters approve on Nov. 8.
The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, in a position paper, said the proposed constitutional amendment, at 39 pages, is “nothing more than thirty pages of mischief.”
The association said that if someone were charged or convicted of killing someone while driving under the influence of marijuana, “Amendment 3 attempts to prohibit our courts from stopping that driver’s continuing use of marijuana.”
Prosecutors said Missourians should look to Colorado, where marijuana has been legal for nearly a decade, to examine the costs of legalization: For example, a 138% increase in traffic deaths in which drivers tested positive for marijuana, according to a 2021 report by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
