McClellan: Reefer madness clouds marijuana legislation in Missouri | Bill McClellan

Several weeks ago, I wrote a column in which I said I was ready to lead the opposition against the ballot issue — Legal Missouri 2022 — that would legalize recreational marijuana. That was an odd place for me to find myself. For years, I have written columns supporting legalized marijuana. Back in the day, I pointed out that if we were to become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, we’d have, if nothing else, a tourist boom. And, of course, increased revenue.

But we weren’t the first. We never are.

Still, Missouri residents rose up and passed an initiative in 2018 to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. That was a huge win. Potheads like me looked forward to a day when even healthy Missourians could legally have a toke.

But the governor stepped on our good vibes. He hijacked the medicinal marijuana initiative. He did so by putting Lyndall Fraker in charge of the new program. Fraker was an amiable but clueless termed-out legislator. In the governor’s defense, he has a long history of appointing termed-out legislators to state jobs. That shows a kind heart. The private sector isn’t exactly breaking down doors to hire ex-Missouri legislators.

At any rate, Fraker, who still is the director of our medicinal pot program, was out of his depth. One of his Republican colleagues, State Rep. Jered Taylor, was gentle when he said that through “ignorance or confusion or incompetence, Director Fraker clearly didn’t have the experience needed for the position.”

The vacuum of leadership at the top allowed the governor’s longtime pal and former House Speaker Steve Tilley to take over. He is a lobbyist and he went to work for the newly created Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association.

There was great competition for relatively few licenses to sell or grow marijuana. The selection process was a complete disaster. Applicants received different scores for the same answers. People who were associated with Tilley seemed to do particularly well. The perception of favoritism led to lawsuits, appeals and rumors of investigations.

On the plus side, the Stoners had their nose in the tent! Our day was coming. Indeed, a ballot initiative was announced last year to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. It was called Legal Missouri 2022. It is being financed by the people who have the licenses for medicinal marijuana. Whoever they are. Their identifies have been a well-guarded state secret. If the initiative passes, their licenses will roll over and become recreational licenses, and no new full licenses will be granted for 548 days. What is the significance of that number? I don’t know. Maybe it’s Tilley’s lucky “Pick 3” number. He has been hired to work for the initiative.

For years, we have talked wistfully about the end of prohibition. And now the industry is going to be run by people who wanted to put us in jail. Doesn’t that seem jarring to anybody else? It certainly bothered my Stoner sensibilities.

So I wrote that we needed to start the whole thing over, and not give anybody a leg up. Let’s be looser with licenses. Let’s not treat weed like it’s plutonium. Let’s give free enterprise a chance.

Shortly after the column appeared, I was invited to visit the medical marijuana dispensary in Pevely. It’s called North.

The three young men running North have histories. Leonard and Neil Volner are brothers. Their dad went to prison for marijuana. “Either our dad was a bad guy or the laws were wrong,” said Leonard, who has a degree in engineering from Rolla. “We decided the laws were wrong.”

They are exactly the kind of people who should be in the business. It’s not just about money for them.

The third fellow is Zachary Mangelsdorf. He’s a cancer survivor. He understands the nausea that comes with chemotherapy.

By the way, his father, David Mangelsdorf, is the money guy. He runs Home Service Oil Company, which has been in operation since 1930. A local guy. Some of the complaints about the selection system have had to do with money coming from out of state.

Mangelsdorf did not strike me as an old hippie, but I had the sense he was at least sympathetic toward us. In fact, he mentioned that he has a back problem which led him to getting a medical marijuana card. He said he likes a gummy bear with a glass of Scotch at night. I favor a Manhattan with my gummy bear, but as Sly and the Family Stone used to say, “different strokes for different folks.”

Mangelsdorf said the dispensary had been a big investment and had been made with the expectation that they’d have a leg up when recreational marijuana came along.

That made sense to me. Maybe I’d been too hasty in my opposition to Legal Missouri.

A Stoner lawyer who works as a volunteer for Legal Missouri certainly thought so. He called me.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “We finally have a chance to legalize pot and you’re ready to lead the opposition?”

Let’s stop the arrests, he said. Why should we care who makes money off of this? Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

But before I could write a column disagreeing with myself and advocating for Legal Missouri, Post-Dispatch reporter Jack Suntrup wrote a story for Wednesday’s paper about the Cannabis Freedom Act, a bill sponsored by Rep. Ron Hicks, a Republican from Defiance. His bill would open up competition. Nobody would have a leg up. Just like I advocated. Hicks spoke to his colleagues about the disastrous selection process.

“I’m sure that every single one of you sitting here has received some type of an email or has heard from somebody in this state about the rollout of that program, whether it was dishonest or not fair to someone,” he said.

He also said he had heard from a young man in the industry who thought the current licensees should have some kind of advantage, maybe get to the front of the line.

Hicks said he was considering that. Maybe everything is coming together, I thought.

I called the Stoner lawyer. He’s got good judgment on the matters. Are you for this new bill? I asked.

He hesitated. Yes, he finally said, but then he went on to say he was concerned the bill was actually a distraction. “Do you really want to trust the Missouri Legislature?” he asked. Our best chance is with the voters, he said.

That was not the clarity I sought, but I suppose the Stoners’ path is clear. Sign the petitions for the flawed initiative, and be ready to vote for it while rooting for the Missouri Legislature. Meanwhile, trust in the wisdom of Mick Jagger: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find, you get what you need.”