La Grange, MO Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

The ordinance sits in Article XI, Offenses Concerning Drugs, of Chapter 215 (Offenses), alongside § 215.530 (controlled substances) and § 215.540 (drug paraphernalia). Section 215.520 itself is short: it bars anyone from possessing or controlling marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid 'in any species or form thereof as defined in Section 195.010, RSMo,' unless Missouri or federal law specifically authorizes the possession. Because the section names no location, it reaches possession on a sidewalk, in a City park, or inside a vehicle exactly as it reaches possession in a private home; the only carve-out is the statutory-authorization clause, which lets conduct that Missouri's own marijuana laws permit escape the ordinance.

The code's own annotation warns that 'under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony under state law,' so an officer with the La Grange Police Department (Chapter 200) can refer a large-quantity case for state felony prosecution rather than a municipal citation. Absent that referral, cases run through the City's Municipal Division of the Circuit Court (Chapter 135). Because § 215.520 sets no penalty of its own, the citywide general penalty of § 100.220 controls: a fine of $10 to $1,000, up to three months in the city or county jail, or both, and every day a violation continues counts as a new offense under § 100.220(B).

Officers may also require community service in lieu of a fine under § 100.220(F). The section was last amended by Ordinance No. 599 on April 25, 2016.