Health & Medicine Archives

Parson wants Missouri to be a national leader in preventing Medicaid fraud

December 10, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Governor Mike Parson, R, has announced the creation of a Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Task Force. He says safeguarding the integrity of the state’s Medicaid program is vital.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (at podium) announces the creation of a Medicaid fraud task force on December 7, 2018. Incoming Attorney General Eric Schmitt (left) and State Medicaid Director Todd Richardson (right) joined him (Brian Hauswirth photo)

The governor was joined at the Statehouse announcement on Friday by incoming Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, who says the program is intended for Missouri’s most vulnerable.

“Whether it’s the elderly veteran that’s receiving those (Medicaid) benefits or a disabled individual, it’s intended for them and it’s not intended for fraudsters. It’s not intended for criminals,” Schmitt says.

Missouri’s Medicaid program involves more than $10 billion of Missouri’s $28 billion operating budget.

Schmitt is expected to take over as attorney general on January 3.

The program, which is officially known as MO HealthNet, has a new director. Former House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, was appointed by Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) Director Steve Corsi, and began the new job on November 1.

Richardson says Governor Parson wants the Show-Me State to be a national leader in addressing Medicaid fraud. Richardson, who also participated in Friday’s announcement, says this will be an important part of his office’s efforts.

“Our responsibility as stewards of taxpayer dollars is to make sure that every single one of those tax dollars is being treated like we would treat our own,” says Richardson.

He reiterates his focus is on having a sustainable program that produces better health outcomes, rather than expanding the program. Richardson also emphasizes that preventing Medicaid fraud is a top priority.

“We intend to lead the nation in making sure that our Medicaid program has integrity, and that we are preventing and prosecuting every bit of fraud that happens in the system,” he says.

Missourinet asked Richardson if his office has enough investigators to look for Medicaid fraud. Richardson says they’ll be examining their resources, both in terms of people and technology.

Parson says task force members will work to find ways to prevent fraud through data analytics and deterrence measures.

About 935,000 Missourians are currently on Medicaid, and there are about 60,000 MO HealthNet-enrolled healthcare providers.

Outgoing Attorney General Josh Hawley says Medicaid fraud investigations have led to criminal charges in 29 cases during the past two years.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office has a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. You can report Medicaid fraud to that unit by calling 1-800-286-3932.

Outgoing Missouri AG Hawley and incoming AG Schmitt hold joint press conference

December 7, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s incoming attorney general says he’s been conducting interviews with staff members of outgoing Attorney General Josh Hawley (R).

Outgoing Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley briefs incoming AG Eric Schmitt on December 6, 2018 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Hawley and Republican Eric Schmitt, who’s currently the State Treasurer, held a joint press conference Thursday in Jefferson City, after Hawley’s senior staff briefed Schmitt in front of reporters.

Schmitt is expected to be sworn-in as attorney general on January 3.

“We anticipate that, by and large, a lot of the great people that are working here (the Missouri attorney general’s office) today will be working here in January,” Schmitt says.

Schmitt tells the Capitol Press Corps there’s many great people working in Hawley’s office. He also says a website has been established for people to send their resumes and to apply for positions.

A reporter asked Schmitt about the multi-state lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Schmitt says it’s inappropriate for him to comment on pending cases, until he’s fully briefed on them.

Hawley told Schmitt and reporters that investigations into opioid manufacturers and opioid distributors continue. He also says investigations into Google and Facebook continue.

Attorney General Hawley also says the investigation into the nonprofit organization “Mission Continues” is ongoing.

Both Hawley and Schmitt were asked by reporters about the Confide App, after a recent report in the “Kansas City Star” that a former top Hawley staffer had used it.

Hawley says there’s a policy in the attorney general’s office that Confide is not to be used for public business. He says he takes it seriously and expects all of his staffers to abide by it, adding that using Confide would be considered a clear violation of office policy.

As for Schmitt, he says no one in government should be using Confide for public business.

Hawley also addressed several other big cases he’s been involved in during his two years as attorney general.

He says it’s time to restructure Missouri’s legal expense fund, which is used to make payments that stem from lawsuits against the state.

“My own view is that it is time to require (state) agencies, all agencies, to pay at least a portion of the judgments and settlements against them, out of their own budgets,” says Hawley.

Hawley says that when he took office in January 2017, there were about $450 million in pending claims against the fund. He says it’s now down to about $400 million.

Missouri lawmakers this year approved legislation from then-House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, that requires the Missouri attorney general to submit a monthly report to lawmakers about the state legal expense fund.

While Hawley had already been doing that, Beatty wanted it to be state statute. She emphasized transparency, and her bill had wide, bipartisan support.

In a response to a Thursday question from Missourinet, Hawley says a popular recreational lake in southeast Missouri which has seen multiple deaths remains closed.

Mr. Hawley’s office filed a lawsuit in late July against “The Offsets“, which is a former quarry near Fredericktown. Hawley says the facility has been the site of at least nine deaths and numerous serious injuries.

“If ever there’s a public nuisance, this is it,” Hawley says. “And people think of barking dogs as public nuisances, this is people dying. It’s a very serious matter.”

The quarry is surrounded by 40-foot bluffs, where people jump in a lake. Hawley has called on the owners to fence off the highest bluffs and to place a dock on the water.

Hawley, who unseated Senator Claire McCaskill in November, will resign as attorney general on January 3.

Pre-filed bill in Missouri Legislature would be among the most restrictive abortion measures in the nation

December 6, 2018 By Jason Taylor

Missouri lawmakers could be considering a far-reaching abortion restriction in the upcoming legislative session.

Republican Missouri State Rep. Nick Schroer of O’Fallon (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications}

Republican state Representative Nick Schroer of O’Fallon pre-filed a bill this week that would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure, which allows for exceptions in medical emergencies, would ban most abortions after six weeks. Reproductive rights group contend many women don’t even know they’re pregnant at that time.

Schroer’s proposal builds on stricter abortion restrictions enacted by Republican lawmakers and former GOP Governor Eric Greitnens after a special session in 2017. It also comes after a U.S. appeals court this year reversed a lower federal court decision that had blocked Missouri laws requiring doctors to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as outpatient surgery centers.

Iowa passed a law this year banning abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, but a judge temporarily blocked its enactment until a legal challenge against it by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Planned Parenthood can be decided.

North Dakota and Arkansas also have passed similar laws, only to see them overturned by federal courts. So far, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the lower court decisions.

But Republicans in states such as South Carolina have vowed to introduce fetal heartbeat legislation in 2019, possibly feeling emboldened by Supreme Court appointments made by President Trump, who campaigned on a promise to nominate anti-abortion judges.

Recently-confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh has indicated through his writings that he would allow for more strict regulations on abortion. Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion after the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a 17-year-old to end her pregnancy over objections from the Trump administration.

Schroer’s measure would require physicians to conduct tests to determine if a fetal heartbeat is present. If one is not detected, an abortion would be allowed within a four day period. If the procedure was not performed within the four-day window, a new fetal heartbeat detection test would be required.

Two state representatives pre-file bills to change HIV and drug treatment policies

December 3, 2018 By Jason Taylor

Bipartisan legislation was announced by two lawmakers in Jefferson City Monday. Representatives Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, and Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, have pre-filed bills to alter Missouri’s HIV-specific criminal codes and change public health laws related to addiction and needle and syringe access.

Rehder was joined by a representative from McCreery’s office and several advocacy groups who support the legislation at a news conference at the state Capitol. The bills were filed last year but failed to advance beyond the committee level.

Rehder and McCreery’s measures modify the laws regarding unlawful actions by persons knowingly infected with communicable diseases, including HIV.

Republican State Representative Holly Rehder announces bills to address HIV and drug treatment policies

The non-profit KC Care Health Center in Kansas City, which handles underserved patients, notes the majority of HIV-specific criminal codes were passed before advances such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) which reduces HIV transmission risk. The organization contends most of the laws do not reflect HIV prevention measures that reduce transmission risk such as condom use and ART. KC Care also states that if the virus is suppressed to undetectable levels, the HIV positive person has zero risk of transmission.

Empower Missouri, a non-profit focused on low-income people, claims current law rewards ignorance of one’s own status and discourages being tested for communicable diseases.

Both KC Care and Empower Missouri have endorsed the bills from Rehder and McCreery.

The legislation itself reduces criminal penalties for knowingly exposing other individuals to a communicable disease while the language “act in a reckless manner” has been eliminated. Punishment for knowingly exposing someone to HIV who doesn’t contract the disease would be lowered from a Class B to a Class C felony while the same infraction in which the person does contract the ailment is lowered from a Class A to Class B felony. Imprisonment for a Class A felony is 10 to 30 years or life, 5 to 15 years for a Class B and not to exceed 7 years for a Class C felony.

In addition, Rehder says her bill would clear the way for those who are HIV positive to be organ donors. It also would cover all serious infectious or communicable diseases such as Hepatitis C in addition to HIV.

Rehder said the changes in the legislation this year came after extensive discussions with local prosecutors. She said charges of knowingly exposing other individuals to a communicable disease often boiled down to a “he said, she said” situation in court.

“One gentleman that testified last year in committee, he said that he even had it tattooed on himself, and his partner said that she did not know,” said Rehder. “He ended up going to prison for many years.”

Missouri has had laws in place since the early 1990s that criminalize HIV exposure. According to a joint release from Rehder and McCreery, Missouri’s laws include exposures which research shows have no exposure risk, including transmission through saliva.

LaTrischa Miles, a Treatment Adherence Supervisor with KC Care, said HIV positive people in intimate relationships with HIV negative individuals often suffer abuse.

“The person that is negative can go to the police,” said Miles. “They can threaten them in ways to make them stay with them and effectively really shut the person down.”

She added that the HIV positive person is generally not looked upon as credible in cases where accusations are being made and will suffer legal consequences as a result.

Brennan Keiser with the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition says the criminal punishment doled out to those who are HIV positive is far too harsh.

“No other disease is treated with the same severity as HIV,” said Keiser. “More people die of another communicable disease, the flu, than HIV. Yet we don’t go around investigating who passed it to whom and charging them for murder.”

Rehder and McCreery filed similar bills last year that change the criminal codes for communicable diseases. Rehder’s measure was well received in committee last year but failed to advance because of its late arrival in the legislative session. McCreery’s bill also received a hearing late in the session and died in committee. Both lawmakers refiled their measures Monday.

In addition, Rehder resubmitted a proposal for changes to laws pertaining to needle and syringe exchange. It would exempt health care providers from criminal penalties for distributing hypodermic needles or syringes. She said the opposition wrongly assumed the measure enable drug users.

“We’re not enabling because no one who isn’t already intending to use a needle isn’t going to use one because it’s free,” Rehder said.

She pointed out in the news conference that it’s important for those who inject drugs to get a clean syringe to guard against spreading HIV or Hepatitis C. She said doing so also puts the user in contact with a medically-educated professional who can provide them with information on where and how to get help when that person decides to seek treatment.

Last year’s bill passed the House with wide bipartisan support but failed to move in the Senate.

The legislative session begins on January 9. Rehder and McCreery are senior members in the Missouri House who’ll be serving their fourth an final two-year terms.

Missouri prescription drug monitoring program legislation to be filed Monday by Rehder (AUDIO)

December 2, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A southeast Missouri lawmaker who has championed prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation for years thinks it will “make it over the finish line” in 2019.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 15, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, will make the drive from southeast Missouri to Jefferson City on Monday morning to pre-file PDMP legislation. Rehder says she and State Sen.-Elect Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, will pre-file the same bill on Monday.

“We are really looking forward to getting this passed this year. We have leadership in both houses (Missouri House and Senate) being excited to get it done,” Rehder says.

A PMDP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

The Missouri House and Senate approved different versions of the bill in 2017, but the Senate version contained a prescriber mandate provision, which the Missouri State Medical Association opposed. The House approved Rehder’s bill by a bipartisan 102-54 vote that year.

Rehder worked on the final day of the 2017 legislative session to come up with a compromise, but ran out of time. She choked-up when she told a Missourinet reporter that day that her bill was dead.

“There’s so many families that just really need this, and, I’m sorry- but, I’m not giving up, I’m a fighter, and I know that we need to get this done,” Rehder said on the final day of the 2017 session.

Rehder told Missourinet Friday afternoon that PDMP legislation is needed because of the toll the opioid epidemic is taking on families.

“When physicians, when your medical professionals don’t have this information about their patients, they’re literally operating with half of the skills that they need,” says Rehder.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, have both called on Missouri lawmakers to approve a PDMP, saying it would help prevent drug-shopping.

Senator McCaskill addressed the issue with Missourinet, after a July 2017 town hall meeting in Ashland. She urged then-Governor Eric Greitens (R) to call a special session for PDMP.

“I’m astounded that we are the only state in the union that has put out a welcome mat for heroin dealers,” McCaskill told Missourinet that evening. “I do not understand it. It is really mind-bending. It is the biggest public health crisis this country has faced in many years.”

Congresswoman Hartzler says the topic came up recently when she met with Walmart pharmacy management and staff in western Missouri’s Butler. Hartzler says there have been several documented cases of individuals from other states visiting Missouri Walmart pharmacies to take advantage of the lack of monitoring in Missouri.

Pre-filing for the 2019 session begins Monday morning in Jefferson City.

Rehder tells Missourinet that House Speaker-designee Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, has always supported PDMP.

“He actually brought it up to me a couple of months ago and said ‘Hey I would really like to get this out of the House early,'” Rehder says. “To of course my excitement, but it’s important to him.”

She also notes that Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, has been a sponsor of PDMP legislation.

Rehder says while about 87 percent of Missouri’s population is currently covered by county PDMP’s, only about 60 to 70 counties have it. She says many small, rural counties that lack PDMP are suffering because of the opioid crisis.

Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, which was recorded on November 30, 2018:

Missouri state troopers worked almost 600 crashes during Thanksgiving weekend

November 27, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri state troopers say nine people were killed in traffic crashes during the five-day 2018 Thanksgiving holiday weekend counting period.

The Missouri Highway Patrol Honor Guard presents the flags at the start of the joint session on June 11, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Troopers say another 108 people suffered injuries. The Highway Patrol worked 587 traffic crashes during the holiday counting period, and made 86 arrests for driving while intoxicated.

They also made 67 drug arrests.

Troopers participated in Operation C.A.R.E. throughout the holiday weekend. That stands for crash awareness and reduction effort.

Missouri state troopers are also asking for your assistance in finding a driver who fled the scene on Saturday, after striking and killing a Richmond teen who was on a moped.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 18-year-old Tahkota Christiansen of Richmond died when an unknown vehicle struck the rear of the moped he was operating on Highway 10 in western Missouri’s Ray County. Troopers say Christiansen’s moped traveled off the road and that he was ejected.

The Patrol’s Troop A in Lee’s Summit tweeted Monday that they are looking for a red Pontiac Grand Am that would have damage to the front passenger side.

Troopers encourage anyone with information on the deadly incident to call Troop A at (816) 622-0800.

American Legion National Commander outlines 2019 priorities

November 27, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

(This is the second in a two-part series from Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth about the American Legion)

The American Legion plans to ask Congress to change the law involving membership eligibility in the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization.

American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad (left) with Jefferson City American Legion Post 5 Commander Jim Rosenberg on November 15, 2018 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo)

American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad made the announcement during a recent visit to Jefferson City. He says the Legion has approved a resolution, calling on Congress to declare the time period from Pearl Harbor in 1941 to today as an open “war time” service period.

“Rather than having the independent periods like we have for Panama, Grenada, Desert Storm, Desert Shield,” Reistad says.

Legion membership is currently open only to men and women who served in active military duty during specific periods designated as “war time” by Congress.

For instance, World War II and World War II-era veterans who served from December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 are eligible. However, under current law, veterans who served from 1947 to 1949 are not eligible to join the Legion.

The Korean War-era dates are from June 1950 to January 1955, and the Vietnam War dates are considered to be from 1961 to May 1975.

The Lebanon/Grenada dates are from August 1982 until July 1984, and the Panama dates are from December 20, 1989 until January 1990.

Anyone who’s served from August 1990 until today is also eligible, under current law.

Reistad was elected national commander on August 30 and has been traveling around the nation, meeting with local posts and veterans. He spoke on November 15 to a packed house at the Roscoe Enloe American Legion Post 5 in Jefferson City.

Another top 2019 priority for the Legion is receiving a full accounting of all POWs and troops missing in action.

Commander Reistad says American Legion membership has decreased from 3.2 million in 1992 to about 2 million today. He notes many World War II veterans have died, since 1992.

“And to expect that we’re going to be able to bring young service members, young veterans into our posts to replace those numbers is not a real practical consideration,” says Reistad.

He says many veterans leaving the service are focused on starting their careers or going to school, as well as starting families.

Reistad says he’s been hearing about VA health care, as he travels the nation visiting with local posts and veterans. He tells Missourinet he’s been hearing from individuals about their experiences with the VA medical system.

“We try to take those questions and have them handled at the local level with the local VA’s,” Reistad says.

The American Legion does have department service officers in Washington, who are specially trained to provide information and assistance relating to the VA. The phone number to reach those service officers is (202) 861-2700.

The Legion was established by an act of Congress in 1919, which means they’ll be celebrating their 100th anniversary next year.

MoDOT closes I-29 near Mound City; officials urge you to avoid traveling in northern Missouri

November 25, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Whiteout conditions in far northwest Missouri have forced the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to close I-29 in Atchison and Holt counties.

A Missouri Department of Transportation snow plow (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)

MoDOT says I-29 is currently closed from the Iowa border down to mile marker 84 in Mound City. The agency is urging you to avoid traveling in northern Missouri today.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says strong wind gusts up to 50 and possibly 60 miles per hour are impacting motorists, as well as the snow. The NWS tweeted a warning for truckers to keep the wind gusts and slick roads in mind.

I-29 begins in Kansas City and runs through northwest Missouri, as well as Iowa and North and South Dakota. Many truckers use that route to haul goods, including agricultural items.

The NWS says most areas north of I-70 in northern Missouri are now snow-covered, and they’re urging people to stay inside today.

The National Weather Service also urges those who must travel to have a full tank of gasoline, warm clothing, water and snacks on hand, in case they become stranded on the highway.

Missouri installation has largest Thanksgiving event in Department of Defense

November 22, 2018 By Jason Taylor

What’s probably the biggest Thanksgiving feast in Missouri takes place at south-central Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood military installation.

Thanksgiving meals being served at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Army installation

The base provides nearly 12,000 meals during its annual Thanksgiving lunch celebration. Combined with breakfast and dinner that are served daily, close to 30,000 meals will be served throughout Thanksgiving day.

More than 7,000 pounds of turkey is required to pull off the lunch event which takes place in 12 dining halls. In addition, 1,200 pounds of shrimp, 2,000 pounds of beef and 2,000 assorted cakes and pies are required for the meals.

The base’s Food Program manager, William Moffitt, describes the annual feast as the “Super Bowl” of meals and says plans take place four to six months in advance with the installation’s prime vendor. “They need to plan out in advance through all their sub-vendors to make sure that they can supply us,” said Moffitt. “And with that amount of food, there’s a logistics process from the companies out there that actually supply the turkeys themselves.”

More than 400 food service employees prepare the food which is then served by the base’s leadership personnel, which Moffitt says is a traditional procedure within the armed forces. “All the leadership, all the commanders for Sergeant, Sergeant Majors, they’ll actually do the serving themselves, Moffitt said. “The food service contractor prepares all the food, but all the leadership will serve it to the junior individuals.”

Because of the scheduling of military personnel, one of the dining halls served its Thanksgiving meals for the Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Tuesday. The other 12 dining facilities for various regiments and battalions as well as Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps detachments at the Army base serve the meal mostly simultaneously between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday.

The installation’s 400 contract food workers spend several days preparing the meals with the process of thawing the turkey taking three days by itself. Cooking the turkeys starts between 1 and 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

The 2018 holiday meal cost is $9.10 for all visitors, except spouses and other dependents of service members E-4 and below, who pay the discounted rate of $6.80 per person. Service members are not charged. E-4 is a military pay grade, covering Specialists and Corporals. Private and Private First Class are ranks below E-4.

Moffitt said because of the Trump administration’s Grow the Army initiative, Fort Leonard Wood has received military personnel from other installations. “We’ve received some of those for the Grow the Army because we’ve had the capability to (expand operations),” said Moffitt.

He notes Fort Leonard Wood has the largest food program in the Department of Defense, followed by bases such as Fort Jackson in South Carolina and Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Moffitt said he’s proud to serve with the team that provided more than 11.5 million meals to military service members this year.

“It is an enjoyable day seeing everyone slow down from the high intensity of training to pause, and reflect with family and friends,” Moffitt said. “Seeing the looks of excitement, relief, and satisfaction on the faces of
trainees and their newly found friends/battle buddies after finishing this feast is a cool sight to see.”

Federal law to block Missouri medical marijuana users from owning a gun

November 20, 2018 By Missourinet Contributor

Missourians who want to get their medical marijuana card would need to need to choose between using the drug or keeping their gun.

Keeping both means running the risk of being arrested because it’s illegal under federal gun laws for any marijuana user to possess a firearm.

In this month’s election, state voters overwhelming passed Amendment 2 by nearly 66%, also known as New Approach Missouri, which allows doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients with serious illnesses.

New Approach Missouri spokesperson Jack Cardetti said the new marijuana law had the foresight to protect second amendment rights at the state level.

“Part of Amendment 2 states that medical marijuana patients that have cancer, epilepsy, PTSD and other debilitating illnesses should have the same rights as other law-abiding citizens,” Cardetti said. “We clearly believe that medical marijuana patients should be able to both possess and purchase a firearm. Unfortunately, just like the other 32 states that have a medical marijuana program, there are some federal laws that do complicate that.”

John Ham with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said both recreational and medical marijuana is still considered a schedule 1 controlled substance at the federal level.

“Whether you cross state lines or not, it would be a violation of federal law for you to be in possession of the gun if you are a user of marijuana,” Ham said. “We are in a situation where we enforce the federal laws that are given to us. Until there is a change to federal law either with marijuana being on the controlled substances list or a change to federal firearms law, the way that we enforce federal law won’t change.”

Now that more than half of all states in the nation have legalized medical cannabis, Cardetti thinks momentum is building to change federal marijuana laws.

“I think there is a good chance that marijuana will no longer be a schedule 1 narcotic,” Cardetti said. “It will either be rescheduled or de-scheduled in the next couple of years. We think that would be a really good option that is going to help people all across the country.”

But the federal government under President Trump’s administration has so far taken a hard line against legalizing marijuana use. In January, the U.S. Justice Department rescinded an Obama administration policy that had eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that legalized the drug, instead giving federal prosecutors wide latitude to pursue criminal charges.

Republican State Representative Nick Schroer of St. Louis says he plans to propose a resolution in January that urges US Congress to reclassify marijuana or change the part of the federal firearm law to allow gun ownership for medical marijuana users.

Cardetti says its times for Missouri lawmakers in Washington to work on making changes on marijuana laws in the nation’s capital. “States have tried to go to court to challenge that and they’ve so far been unsuccessful,” said Cardetti. “So, the real remedy here is that the federal government and the Missouri congressional delegation need to get together and change federal law when it comes to federal law.”

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV supplied this report while Missourinet’s Jason Taylor contributed to it)