Patient Rights ~
Can Probation Be Revoked for Legal Marijuana Use?
by Dan Viets, J. D., contributing writer
The Constitution of the State of Missouri is the supreme law. It creates the entire system for state government, including the system of courts of our state, the local circuit courts, the three divisions of our Court of Appeals, and the Missouri Supreme Court. An Article of that document says,“ That all political power is vested in and derived from the people, is founded on their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.”
In Article XIV, passed directly by the people of Missouri, at Section 1, 5.( 12 and 13), it states,“ Lawful marijuana related activities cannot be basis for a violation of parole, probation or any type of supervised release.” In Section 2, 7.( 6), the same statement is repeated. declaratory judgment, suing the State of Missouri, the prosecuting attorney in Stewart’ s case, and the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole in the Circuit Court of Cole County in Jefferson City.
The state argues that since marijuana is still illegal under federal law, those on probation cannot be allowed to use marijuana because those on probation must obey“ all laws.” This argument ignores the fact that the courts in these cases are not federal courts and that all Missouri lawyers swear an oath every year to uphold the federal and Missouri Constitutions.
Both sides filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. Those Motions were argued before the Honorable Christopher Limbaugh on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. Judge Limbaugh has ordered both sides to file Proposed Orders in January 2026.
Regardless of the Cole County Court’ s decision, an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court is anticipated. Because the case involves the interpretation of the Missouri Constitution, such an appeal can go directly to the state Supreme Court without first going to the Court of Appeals.
One would think that this plain English would be clear enough that any judge, prosecutor, or probation officer could understand and abide by it, but that has not been the case.
Some Missouri courts and prosecutors seem desperate to hold on to the authority to revoke probation for marijuana use, even when doing so is clearly a violation of the Constitutional rights of Missourians.
Last year, I was contacted by Sharon Stewart, who was on probation for a misdemeanor offense. She is a medical marijuana patient. She was threatened with revocation of her probation solely because of her marijuana use. I contacted the ACLU of Missouri and asked them to represent her in a challenge to this threat. I am very happy to report that the ACLU-MO has done excellent work on this issue.
They first filed for a writ in the Southern District Missouri Court of Appeals. The Southern District ducked the issue on the premise that probation is not a final judgment. The ACLU then filed for a
While the wording of Article XIV seems to leave little room for a contrary ruling, the Missouri Supreme Court did render a decision in July 2025 in C. S. v. MO State Highway Patrol et al, in which it seemed to ignore the plain wording of Article XIV regarding what marijuana offenses may be expunged.
However, ACLU-MO staff attorney Jonathan Schmid, in his remarks at the Fall 2025 MO NORML State Conference, expressed optimism that the Missouri high court will honor the will of the people as expressed in Article XIV and order Missouri courts to follow the obvious intent of the people of our state and stop revoking probation for marijuana use.
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Dan Viets, J. D., is Chair of the National Board of Directors of NORML( National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and the Missouri State Coordinator for NORML. He chaired the Boards of Directors of both the 2018 and 2022 Article XIV campaigns. He has practiced law in almost every circuit court in Missouri during the past 38 years.
40 January 2026