Missouri foster parents can now legally own and grow cannabis in their homes

Foster parents in Missouri can now legally possess and grow cannabis in their homes. This news comes as a result of an emergency regulation issued by the state’s Department of Social Services last week.

However, there are of course guidelines. Foster parents must store their cannabis “in a way that is out of the reach of the children,” the regulation states. And don’t remember to light up around children; Consumption of cannabis in any form that emits smoke or vapor is still prohibited indoors. So head outside to light your joint.

These reservations are not uncommon. Rather, they follow similar policies for storing prescribed medication, alcohol, and matches. According to the law, if a foster parent chooses to be raised, they must do so “in a closed, locked facility” as defined by the law.

Thanks to the passage of this new law, foster parents can now legally consume cannabis like everyone else. Back in November 2022, Missouri voters passed a ballot initiative, Amendment 3, to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older. Amendment 3 allows for the purchase and possession of up to three ounces of cannabis. Once registered, one can legally grow up to six mature plants for personal use. However, the newly passed law banned the foster parents of around 14,000 children from attending.

Missouri has adopted the legislative changes governing “physical and environmental standards” for emergency foster care because the current guidelines conflict with the approved constitutional amendment, said a statement accompanying the text of the rule.

“Rule 13 CSR 35-60.040 currently provides that foster parents may not use or possess marijuana or marijuana-infused products,” it reads. “Any provision that conflicts with the Missouri Constitution is void.”

Under emergency rules, the change expires on February 23, 2024.

Based on what Social Services spokeswoman Caitlin Whaley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the changes are intended to protect foster children.

“This is to protect the foster child from the dangers of second-hand smoke,” Whaley said. “Foster parents may smoke marijuana and tobacco off-premises, but not in a vehicle while transporting a foster child and not in the presence of a foster child.”

Last year, researchers at the University of Mississippi published a study suggesting that cannabis legalization is leading to a reduction in foster care admissions of at least 10%. “Our most conservative estimates suggest that legalization will result in a reduction in the overall number of foster care placements of at least 10 percent, with larger impacts in the years after legalization and in foster care placements due to specific child welfare concerns,” he said the authors of the study concluded.

But if cannabis were federally legal; This would result in estimated care system cost savings of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

The authors analyzed data from the 2000–2017 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System and other sources. Their results showed that while there were subtle differences between states prior to the legalization of cannabis, the number of foster care placements gradually decreased in the states where the reform was implemented. “Legalization may impact foster placement directly by changing children’s well-being, or indirectly by changing policies and attitudes about home marijuana use,” they wrote. “Direct effects can occur because marijuana use itself induces behaviors that affect the child’s well-being or because it alters the likelihood of using other drugs,” reports Marijuana Moment.

The study, published in the journal Economic Inquiry, also looked at how these declines would affect the economy. Other previous research suggests that a single placement in foster care costs an average of $25,000. The most recent study found that legalizing cannabis nationally “would reduce the financial burden on the care system by approximately $675 million annually.”

“We also find that placements for physical abuse, parental neglect, and parental incarceration decrease after legalization, providing evidence that legalization reduces significant threats to child welfare, although the exact mechanism behind these effects is unclear,” close the authors.

Republican auditor Scott Fitzpatrick launched an investigation into Missouri’s cannabis program to examine whether regulators “operate in a manner that is efficient, accountable and transparent,” and complained that cannabis regulations “now cover more than a fifth of the… language in our country”. state constitution,” reports the Missouri Independent. This is the latest foray into the interior of a much-criticized program that’s garnering attention from both state legislatures and federal law enforcement agencies, while also simply trying to keep track of the level, speed and growth of the to keep changing laws.

Fitzpatrick told the Missouri Independent that the audit was because cannabis was going to be a $1 billion industry in Missouri. He adds that the changes that legalized it “represent some of the most significant changes we’ve seen to our state constitution in recent memory.”