Is Possessing Marijuana and Weapons a Felony in Missouri?
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer depends on the precise charges that are brought. Please see the following MO statutes to determine applicability:
571.010. Definitions. —
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Antique, curio or relic firearm", any firearm so defined by the
National Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. Title 26, Section 5845, and the
United States Treasury/Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms,
27 CFR Section 178.11:
(a) "Antique firearm" is any firearm not designed or redesigned for using
rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and
manufactured in or before 1898, said ammunition not being manufactured any
longer; this includes any matchlock, wheel lock, flintlock, percussion cap
or similar type ignition system, or replica thereof;
(b) "Curio or relic firearm" is any firearm deriving value as a
collectible weapon due to its unique design, ignition system, operation or
at least fifty years old, associated with a historical event, renown
personage or major war;
(2) "Blackjack", any instrument that is designed or adapted for the
purpose of stunning or inflicting physical injury by striking a person, and
which is readily capable of lethal use;
(3) "Blasting agent", any material or mixture, consisting of fuel and
oxidizer that is intended for blasting, but not otherwise defined as an
explosive under this section, provided that the finished product, as mixed
for use of shipment, cannot be detonated by means of a numbered 8 test
blasting cap when unconfined;
(4) "Concealable firearm", any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen
inches in length, measured from the face of the bolt or standing breech;
(5) "Deface", to alter or destroy the manufacturer's or importer's serial
number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark;
(6) "Detonator", any device containing a detonating charge that is used
for initiating detonation in an explosive, including but not limited to,
electric blasting caps of instantaneous and delay types, nonelectric
blasting caps for use with safety fuse or shock tube and detonating cord
delay connectors;
(7) "Explosive weapon", any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas bomb or
similar device designed or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death,
serious physical injury, or substantial property damage; or any device
designed or adapted for delivering or shooting such a weapon. For the
purposes of this subdivision, the term "explosive" shall mean any chemical
compound mixture or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to
function by explosion, including but not limited to, dynamite and other
high explosives, pellet powder, initiating explosives, detonators, safety
fuses, squibs, detonating cords, igniter cords, and igniters or blasting
agents;
(8) "Firearm", any weapon that is designed or adapted to expel a
projectile by the action of an explosive;
(9) "Firearm silencer", any instrument, attachment, or appliance that is
designed or adapted to muffle the noise made by the firing of any firearm;
(10) "Gas gun", any gas ejection device, weapon, cartridge, container or
contrivance other than a gas bomb that is designed or adapted for the
purpose of ejecting any poison gas that will cause death or serious
physical injury, but not any device that ejects a repellant or temporary
incapacitating substance;
(11) "Intoxicated", substantially impaired mental or physical capacity
resulting from introduction of any substance into the body;
(12) "Knife", any dagger, dirk, stiletto, or bladed hand instrument that
is readily capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by
cutting or stabbing a person. For purposes of this chapter, "knife" does
not include any ordinary pocketknife with no blade more than four inches in
length;
(13) "Knuckles", any instrument that consists of finger rings or guards
made of a hard substance that is designed or adapted for the purpose of
inflicting serious physical injury or death by striking a person with a
fist enclosed in the knuckles;
(14) "Machine gun", any firearm that is capable of firing more than one
shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the
trigger;
(15) "Projectile weapon", any bow, crossbow, pellet gun, slingshot or
other weapon that is not a firearm, which is capable of expelling a
projectile that could inflict serious physical injury or death by striking
or piercing a person;
(16) "Rifle", any firearm designed or adapted to be fired from the
shoulder and to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic
cartridge to fire a projectile through a rifled bore by a single function
of the trigger;
(17) "Short barrel", a barrel length of less than sixteen inches for a
rifle and eighteen inches for a shotgun, both measured from the face of the
bolt or standing breech, or an overall rifle or shotgun length of less than
twenty-six inches;
(18) "Shotgun", any firearm designed or adapted to be fired from the
shoulder and to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to
fire a number of shot or a single projectile through a smooth bore barrel
by a single function of the trigger;
(19) "Spring gun", any fused, timed or nonmanually controlled trap or
device designed or adapted to set off an explosion for the purpose of
inflicting serious physical injury or death;
(20) "Switchblade knife", any knife which has a blade that folds or
closes into the handle or sheath, and:
(a) That opens automatically by pressure applied to a button or other
device located on the handle; or
(b) That opens or releases from the handle or sheath by the force of
gravity or by the application of centrifugal force.
571.030.[fn*] Unlawful use of weapons — exceptions — penalties. —
[fn*] Transferred 1978; formerly 562.070
1. A person commits the crime of unlawful use of weapons if he or she
knowingly:
(1) Carries concealed upon or about his or her person a knife, a firearm,
a blackjack or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use; or
(2) Sets a spring gun; or
(3) Discharges or shoots a firearm into a dwelling house, a railroad
train, boat, aircraft, or motor vehicle as defined in section 302.010,
RSMo, or any building or structure used for the assembling of people; or
(4) Exhibits, in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily
capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner; or
(5) Possesses or discharges a firearm or projectile weapon while
intoxicated; or
(6) Discharges a firearm within one hundred yards of any occupied
schoolhouse, courthouse, or church building; or
(7) Discharges or shoots a firearm at a mark, at any object, or at
random, on, along or across a public highway or discharges or shoots a
firearm into any outbuilding; or
(8) Carries a firearm or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use
into any church or place where people have assembled for worship, or into
any election precinct on any election day, or into any building owned or
occupied by any agency of the federal government, state government, or
political subdivision thereof; or
(9) Discharges or shoots a firearm at or from a motor vehicle, as defined
in section 301.010, RSMo, discharges or shoots a firearm at any person, or
at any other motor vehicle, or at any building or habitable structure,
unless the person was lawfully acting in self-defense; or
(10) Carries a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any other weapon
readily capable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus, or onto
the premises of any function or activity sponsored or sanctioned by school
officials or the district school board.
2. Subdivisions (1), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10) of
subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to or affect any of the
following:
(1) All state, county and municipal peace officers who have completed the
training required by the police officer standards and training commission
pursuant to sections 590.030 to 590.050, RSMo, and possessing the duty and
power of arrest for violation of the general criminal laws of the state or
for violation of ordinances of counties or municipalities of the state,
whether such officers are on or off duty, and whether such officers are
within or outside of the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction, or all
qualified retired peace officers, as defined in subsection 10 of this
section, and who carry the identification defined in subsection 11 of this
section, or any person summoned by such officers to assist in making
arrests or preserving the peace while actually engaged in assisting such
officer;
(2) Wardens, superintendents and keepers of prisons, penitentiaries,
jails and other institutions for the detention of persons accused or
convicted of crime;
(3) Members of the armed forces or national guard while performing their
official duty;
(4) Those persons vested by article V, section 1 of the Constitution of
Missouri with the judicial power of the state and those persons vested by
Article III of the Constitution of the United States with the judicial
power of the United States, the members of the federal judiciary;
(5) Any person whose bona fide duty is to execute process, civil or
criminal;
(6) Any federal probation officer or federal flight deck officer as
defined under the federal flight deck officer program,
49 U.S.C. Section 44921;
(7) Any state probation or parole officer, including supervisors and
members of the board of probation and parole;
(8) Any corporate security advisor meeting the definition and fulfilling
the requirements of the regulations established by the board of police
commissioners under section 84.340, RSMo; and
(9) Any coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or assistant medical
examiner.
3. Subdivisions (1), (5), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this
section do not apply when the actor is transporting such weapons in a
nonfunctioning state or in an unloaded state when ammunition is not readily
accessible or when such weapons are not readily accessible. Subdivision (1)
of subsection 1 of this section does not apply to any person twenty-one
years of age or older transporting a concealable firearm in the passenger
compartment of a motor vehicle, so long as such concealable firearm is
otherwise lawfully possessed, nor when the actor is also in possession of
an exposed firearm or projectile weapon for the lawful pursuit of game, or
is in his or her dwelling unit or upon premises over which the actor has
possession, authority or control, or is traveling in a continuous journey
peaceably through this state. Subdivision (10) of subsection 1 of this
section does not apply if the firearm is otherwise lawfully possessed by a
person while traversing school premises for the purposes of transporting a
student to or from school, or possessed by an adult for the purposes of
facilitation of a school-sanctioned firearm-related event.
4. Subdivisions (1), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this section
shall not apply to any person who has a valid concealed carry endorsement
issued pursuant to sections 571.101 to 571.121 or a valid permit or
endorsement to carry concealed firearms issued by another state or
political subdivision of another state.
5. Subdivisions (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) of
subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to persons who are engaged
in a lawful act of defense pursuant to section 563.031, RSMo.
6. Nothing in this section shall make it unlawful for a student to
actually participate in school-sanctioned gun safety courses, student
military or ROTC courses, or other school-sponsored firearm-related events,
provided the student does not carry a firearm or other weapon readily
capable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus, or onto the
premises of any other function or activity sponsored or sanctioned by
school officials or the district school board.
7. Unlawful use of weapons is a class D felony unless committed
pursuant to subdivision (6), (7), or (8) of subsection 1 of this section,
in which cases it is a class B misdemeanor, or subdivision (5) or (10) of
subsection 1 of this section, in which case it is a class A misdemeanor
if the firearm is unloaded and a class D felony if the firearm is
loaded, or subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this section, in which case
it is a class B felony, except that if the violation of subdivision (9)
of subsection 1 of this section results in injury or death to another
person, it is a class A felony.
8. Violations of subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this section shall be
punished as follows:
(1) For the first violation a person shall be sentenced to the maximum
authorized term of imprisonment for a class B felony;
(2) For any violation by a prior offender as defined in section 558.016,
RSMo, a person shall be sentenced to the maximum authorized term of
imprisonment for a class B felony without the possibility of parole,
probation or conditional release for a term of ten years;
(3) For any violation by a persistent offender as defined in section
558.016, RSMo, a person shall be sentenced to the maximum authorized term
of imprisonment for a class B felony without the possibility of parole,
probation, or conditional release;
(4) For any violation which results in injury or death to another person,
a person shall be sentenced to an authorized disposition for a class A
felony.
9. Any person knowingly aiding or abetting any other person in the
violation of subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this section shall be
subject to the same penalty as that prescribed by this section for
violations by other persons.
10. As used in this section "qualified retired peace officer" means an
individual who:
(1) Retired in good standing from service with a public agency as a peace
officer, other than for reasons of mental instability;
(2) Before such retirement, was authorized by law to engage in or
supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or
the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had
statutory powers of arrest;
(3) Before such retirement, was regularly employed as a peace officer for
an aggregate of fifteen years or more, or retired from service with such
agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such
service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by such
agency;
(4) Has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of
the agency if such a plan is available;
(5) During the most recent twelve-month period, has met, at the expense
of the individual, the standards for training and qualification for active
peace officers to carry firearms;
(6) Is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or
hallucinatory drug or substance; and
(7) Is not prohibited by federal law from receiving a firearm.
11. The identification required by subdivision (1) of subsection 2 of
this section is:
(1) A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the
individual retired from service as a peace officer that indicates that the
individual has, not less recently than one year before the date the
individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise
found by the agency to meet the standards established by the agency for
training and qualification for active peace officers to carry a firearm of
the same type as the concealed firearm; or
(2) A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the
individual retired from service as a peace officer; and
(3) A certification issued by the state in which the individual resides
that indicates that the individual has, not less recently than one year
before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been
tested or otherwise found by the state to meet the standards established by
the state for training and qualification for active peace officers to carry
a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
195.202. Possession or control of a controlled substance, penalty. —
1. Except as authorized by sections 195.005 to 195.425, it is unlawful
for any person to possess or have under his control a controlled substance.
2. Any person who violates this section with respect to any controlled
substance except thirty-five grams or less of marijuana is guilty of a
class C felony.
3. Any person who violates this section with respect to not more than
thirty-five grams of marijuana is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
195.211. Distribution, delivery, manufacture or production of a controlled
substance, violations and attempted violations, penalty. —
1. Except as authorized by sections 195.005 to 195.425 and except as
provided in section 195.222, it is unlawful for any person to distribute,
deliver, manufacture, produce or attempt to distribute, deliver,
manufacture or produce a controlled substance or to possess with intent to
distribute, deliver, manufacture, or produce a controlled substance.
2. Any person who violates or attempts to violate this section with
respect to manufacturing or production of a controlled substance of any
amount except for five grams or less of marijuana in a residence where a
child resides or within two thousand feet of the real property comprising a
public or private elementary or public or private elementary or secondary
school, public vocational school or a public or private community college,
college or university, or any school bus is guilty of a class A felony.
3. Any person who violates or attempts to violate this section with
respect to any controlled substance except five grams or less of marijuana
is guilty of a class B felony.
4. Any person who violates this section with respect to distributing or
delivering not more than five grams of marijuana is guilty of a class C
felony.
195.233. Unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, penalty. —
1. It is unlawful for any person to use, or to possess with intent to
use, drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest,
manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze,
pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise
introduce into the human body a controlled substance or an imitation
controlled substance in violation of sections 195.005 to 195.425.
2. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor,
unless the person uses, or possesses with intent to use, the paraphernalia
in combination with each other to manufacture, compound, produce, prepare,
test or analyze amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues in
which case the violation of this section is a class D felony.