cannabisnews.com: Proposal To Ease Marijuana Penalties On Ballot Proposal To Ease Marijuana Penalties On Ballot Posted by CN Staff on January 24, 2003 at 08:17:28 PT By Shashank Bengali, Missouri Correspondent Source: Kansas City Star Ready for a shocker from College Town, U.S.A.? A University of Missouri-Columbia student group wants the city to relax penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana.But before you roll your eyes, take note: Columbia's recurrent pro-pot movement this week made its biggest stride in decades, securing space for a proposed marijuana ordinance on the city's April 8 ballot. The measure -- thought to be the first of its kind in Missouri or Kansas -- would allow seriously ill residents to use marijuana if a doctor recommended it and would significantly reduce the punishment for possession of less than 35 grams of the drug.Best of all, backers say, is that most minor marijuana cases would be disposed of with fines in municipal court, shielding students from criminal prosecution that could jeopardize their education."The current law punishes people too harshly for minor marijuana offenses," said Anthony Johnson, a 25-year-old MU law student who wrote the ordinance. "We also want to send a message that seriously ill patients shouldn't be denied medicine that doctors recommend."Some Columbia officials expressed doubt that the measure would pass. For one thing, its staunchest supporters -- college students and twenty-somethings -- are usually the least likely to vote.For another, said Police Chief Randy Boehm, the m-word carries a serious stigma, even in a college town."I've heard from a number of people in the community that have concerns about the proposal, particularly parents," said Boehm, who is against the ordinance. "As this is discussed in the community more, I do anticipate there will be a great deal of opposition."Still, the students behind the ordinance see it as the best opportunity in more than 20 years to soften Columbia's marijuana laws.After years of abortive efforts, a petition circulated last fall by Johnson's group, the Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, obtained 2,552 signatures -- twice as many as needed to put the issue before the City Council.On Tuesday night, by a 6-1 vote, the council declined to approve the ordinance outright, meaning it will go to a public vote.Columbia's current marijuana ordinance mirrors a state statute making possession of less than 35 grams a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by at most one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.The proposed ordinance would punish anyone caught with less than 35 grams with only municipal fines: at most $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense, $100 for a third offense and $500 for a fourth or subsequent offense.The city prosecutor, in most cases, could not send the offender to a county court or file charges under the stiffer state law.Such a sharp rollback in penalties could promote marijuana use, said Kim Dude, director of MU's Wellness Resource Center, who said she opposed any weakening of drug laws."Unless there are consequences to behavior, and unless the consequence is significant enough, then it will not serve as a deterrent," Dude said. "A $25 fine will in no way serve as a deterrent."The student group's main argument stems from a provision of the 1998 federal Higher Education Act, under which students convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs can lose their eligibility for federal financial aid.A student convicted once can lose aid for a year. Two convictions means two years. A third time, and the student is ineligible indefinitely.No such aid prohibitions exist for violent crimes, including rape and murder, said Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. In the last two years, 91,000 students nationwide have lost aid because of drug convictions, he said.Johnson said he knew of 27 MU undergraduates who had been so penalized.Not surprisingly, such figures have currency with students."One simple mistake -- if you get caught -- is all it takes to have your federal aid stripped away," said Nick Choate, editor in chief of The Maneater, MU's student newspaper, whose editorial board has endorsed the ordinance."The ordinance would make the punishment more fitting to the crime," Choate said.Boehm, the police chief, said that local authorities had an understanding that most minor marijuana cases stay in municipal court -- unless the offender faces other charges or has had previous arrests."I think the system is working well as it is," Boehm said. "I would be opposed to any type of proposal that took away discretion from law enforcement and the prosecutors."Boehm said he expected that supporters of the proposed ordinance would paint occasional marijuana use as a paltry offense compared with other crimes. But in 26 years with the department, he said, he has seen many pot smokers who used more serious drugs or went on to commit worse crimes."I'm not going to suggest that an individual cannot be a casual user of marijuana and, in some cases, not cause any other problems in the community," he said. "It certainly is possible."But on the other hand, we've seen it lead to other things."Complete Title: Proposal To Ease Marijuana Penalties To Be On Columbia BallotSource: Kansas City Star (MO)Author: Shashank Bengali, Missouri CorrespondentPublished: Friday, January 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Kansas City StarContact: letters kcstar.comWebsite: http://www.kcstar.com/Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Council Sets Pot Revision for Electionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15253.shtmlCity Council To Vote on Pot-Possession Penaltieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15227.shtmlGroups Hope Petition Helps Soften Pot Policieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14445.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 24, 2003 at 17:02:46 PT Related News Article from KYTV Springfield, Mo. Student Initiative Puts Softer Marijuana Penalties Before Columbia VotersBy Scott Charton, The Associated Press January 24, 2003 Columbia, Mo. -- Taking aim at hippie stereotypes, backers of a local ballot issue that would soften penalties in marijuana cases are crafting campaign arguments that cross and blur demographic lines. They believe the approach -- simultaneous appeals to the seriously ill, senior citizens, college students and baby boomers who sneak joints on weekends -- will propel Proposition 1 into this university town's law books on April 8. “This isn't just about potheads,'' said University of Missouri law student Anthony Lee Johnson, the proposal's author. “We think this is a winning coalition.'' Under Proposition 1: -- Medical use of marijuana would be allowed in Columbia, as it is in nine states, but not Missouri. -- Cases involving smaller quantities of pot -- 35 grams or less -- would be handled in city, rather than state, court. There, offenders could be punished with misdemeanor-level fines starting at $25, but no jail time. That could benefit college students, who risk losing federal education aid because of state drug convictions. It's a new approach to the old battle to decriminalize pot, said Keith Stroup, executive director of the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “This is the first example I've seen where they're joined medical marijuana with arguments about penalizing college students,'' Stroup said Friday. “It's a very smart idea to combine these and let the people vote on not scarring any of these folks with arrest records.'' Johnson, 25, of Lexington, said he started crafting a hybrid marijuana decriminalization proposal after reading an article about University of Missouri students who lost federal education aid because they acknowledged drug convictions. He said a marijuana conviction at age 18 could dog someone who hasn't smoked pot in decades if they apply for federal aid to go back to school. “How is that a good thing, to derail someone who is a law-abiding citizen for years from furthering their education? Yet this is what happens when you're convicted in state court,'' Johnson said. The University of Missouri said the effect of stern federal anti-drug rules attached to student aid isn't widespread. Just one student out of the more than 24,000 enrolled at the Columbia campus lost financial aid for that reason during the most recent semester, said spokesman Christian Basi. Johnson said he has heard of more than two dozen such cases in the last couple of years, numbers that Basi doesn't dispute. Johnson and his allies spent months gathering the required 1,191 signatures of registered voters to get the proposal before the Columbia City Council. “The signatures came from senior citizens and students and people who have crippling and painful conditions who could get relief from marijuana,'' said Sarah Duff, a resident of Columbia who circulated petitions. This week, the council decided against adopting the language on its own, instead choosing to place the proposal on the spring ballot. Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm strongly opposes the change, insisting that law enforcement needs to keep its discretion about whether to prosecute marijuana cases in city or state courts. “That discretion is critical. For example, if it's not a first offense, that should be dealt with in state court. What if there are additional charges from the same incident? That should be handled by one state prosecutor,'' Boehm said. He noted that Proposition 1 imposes a maximum $500 fine for the fourth and subsequent offenses but no risk of going to jail. “Philosophically, I believe this sends the wrong message. We try to send the message that substance abuse is not a good thing and this undermines that,'' Boehm said. As for winking at the medical use of marijuana, Boehm and other critics say local governments cannot enact laws that are less stringent than state law, which has no exemption for doctor-prescribed pot.Direct Link: http://www.ky3.com/newsdetailed.asp?id=4061 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 24, 2003 at 10:03:04 PT News Brief from Ananova Police Mistake Nativity Hay for Marijuana Marijuana seized by police in Chicago last month turned out to be hay from a church Nativity scene.Police got an anonymous tip that a major consignment was being moved in a truck.When officers stopped the vehicle with Jose Galvan and Juan Luna in it, two small plastic bags with crushed green plants fell out of the cab.On-the-spot tests seemed to confirm the plants were marijuana.But a spokesman for the Cook County state attorney's office has confirmed that lab tests found the initial results were erroneous and drugs charges have now been dropped.Mr Galvan and Mr Luna had been planning to take the hay from St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church, where they are parishioners, back to a horse farm where a friend had loaned it to them.However, the two remained at Cook County Jail as federal immigration officials checked to see if they are in the country legally.Mr Luna will appear in court next week on an unrelated marijuana delivery charge he thought had been dismissed, reports the Chicago Sun-Times -- http://www.suntimes.com/index/Ananova: Friday January 24th, 2003http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_743250.html?menu=news.quirkies [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on January 24, 2003 at 08:45:49 PT BILL WOULD MATCH POT, ALCOHOL PENALTIES BILL WOULD MATCH POT, ALCOHOL PENALTIES From high school students in his district, Wausa Sen. Doug Cunningham got the idea of raising the penalty for smoking dope. Many times when Cunningham visited schools, students would point out that they have to pay a much heftier fine if they get caught with alcohol than if they get caught with a marijuana joint. Minor in possession of alcohol carries a maximum $500 fine, and many judges set a $200 to $250 fine, explained Cunningham. Possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana is a flat $100 fine. Cunningham said students likely thought he would move to reduce the fine for the booze. But the senator decided it was time to increase the punishment for marijuana possession. His bill, LB176, makes the possession of a small amount of marijuana a Class IV misdemeanor, identical to a minor in possession conviction. "It didn't seem logical to lower the minor in possession fine." And, he said, the difference sent the wrong message: that it is less harmful to smoke marijuana than to drink as a minor. Even though alcohol is the drug of choice among high school students, teens point out that it is easier to get rid of a joint than a six- pack if you are stopped by police, Derlyn Luebbe, Pierce County attorney, told senators on the Legislature's Judiciary Committee during a Thursday hearing. But Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers and several defense attorneys criticized the proposal. Twenty-five years ago state senators basically decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, making it a civil "infraction" rather than a criminal misdemeanor or a felony, explained Don Fiedler, an Omaha attorney representing the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. Young men and women were unable to get scholarships and were barred from certain professions because they had drug convictions on their records. A minor in possession conviction didn't carry the same lifetime consequences, he said. That distinction is true today, Fiedler said. "People are more forgiving of those who use alcohol," he said. "When you make it ( marijuana possession ) a crime that has serious implications for the rest of their lives," he said, suggesting that senators could make the fine amount similar without upgrading marijuana possession to a misdemeanor. Wild parties are generally associated with drinking. Drunken driving - -- not driving under the influence of marijuana -- is considered a youth problem, Chambers pointed out through a series of questions. Alcohol does tend to make people more agitated and aggressive, while marijuana tends to make them mellow out, according to Chambers. Alcohol use among teens is more of a problem than marijuana use in Pierce County, according to Luebbe. But some studies indicate marijuana is a gateway drug to other illegal drugs. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n114/a11.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment