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The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, along with Stinson LLP, has initiated a lawsuit on behalf of Sharon Stewart against the State of Missouri, the Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, and the Dallas County Prosecuting Attorney.
The lawsuit alleges that probationary terms have been used to infringe on Stewart’s constitutional right to use medical marijuana prescribed by her physician. The plaintiff is seeking injunctive and declaratory relief to prevent the state from penalizing her and denying probationers their constitutional right to access prescribed medical treatment, as well as to ensure they are free from probation violations related to any use of marijuana.
“The people of Missouri voted not once, but twice, to add protections that prohibit the state from applying lawful marijuana use as a basis for a violation of parole, probation, or any type of supervised release,” stated Gillian Wilcox, Director of Litigation at the ACLU of Missouri. “The state is trampling the constitutional rights of the plaintiff and others on probation while interfering with medical treatments prescribed by state-licensed physicians.”
In 2018, Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of medical marijuana. This constitutional amendment established legal guidelines for the production, sale, and use of medical marijuana. It specifically stated that “[r]egistered qualifying patients on bond for pre-trial release, on probation, or further supervised release shall not be prohibited from legally using a lawful marijuana product as terms of condition or release, probation, or parole.”
In 2022, Missouri voters further legalized the recreational use of marijuana through another constitutional amendment. This amendment included a section reinforcing previously passed protections, stating that “[l]awful marijuana-related activities cannot be the basis for a violation of parole, probation, or any type of supervised release.”
In April 2022, a state-licensed physician issued Stewart a medical marijuana card for diagnosed health conditions. On two occasions in 2023, following scheduled urinalyses, the state issued her Notices of Citation for allegedly violating a probationary condition for drug use because she tested positive for THC. Both notices acknowledged that she “was not to use or possess drugs of any kind unless prescribed by a medical doctor licensed in Missouri.”
The Dallas County Prosecutor filed motions to revoke Stewart’s probation status each time. The first hearing ended without the court determining if a violation occurred, leading to a continuance of her probation. At the second hearing, the court found that Stewart had violated a separate probation condition—“obey all laws and ordinances”—because testing positive for THC was deemed a violation of federal law, even though the alleged violation was specifically for “drug use.” Consequently, the court ordered her to complete two days of “shock incarceration” in the Dallas County Jail, which she served in May 2024.
“The unconstitutional application of probationary terms has not only violated Stewart’s rights but also led to her serving two days of ‘shock incarceration’ as punishment for merely attempting to exercise those rights as contemplated by the Missouri Constitution,” said Jonathan Schmid, Policy Counsel for the ACLU of Missouri.
You can read the full petition by clicking or tapping on this link.
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