Prairie Village may join the growing list of communities that have decriminalized marijuana.

At a meeting earlier this week, councilmembers Inga Selders and Ian Graves outlined several reasons why decriminalization should be considered — including the disproportionate enforcement on low-income individuals and people of color, as well as Prairie Village’s proximity to Kansas City, where decriminalization and medical marijuana is thriving.

Selders said with medical marijuana legal in Missouri, it puts Prairie Village in a “unique and necessary position to address” prohibition.

No councilmember expressed opposition to having staff look into marijuana decriminalization. As part of this process, city staff will look into the following specific items related to marijuana decriminalization:

• Removing marijuana-related language from city code and the city’s use of the Uniform Public Offense Code.

• Reducing municipal penalties on cannabis-related infractions such as opting for citations instead of requiring violators to appear in court.

• Similar solutions that present themselves during the investigations of the two items above.

Learn more here about getting your medical marijuana card!