cannabisnews.com: Ethics Complaint in Columbia Pot Vote Sent To AG Ethics Complaint in Columbia Pot Vote Sent To AG Posted by CN Staff on July 17, 2003 at 17:18:32 PT By David A. Lieb, The Associated Press Source: Associated Press An ethics complaint against a group that opposed a Columbia ballot measure on marijuana has been referred to the state attorney general. The complaint against Jefferson City-based ACT Missouri was filed with the Ethics Commission in April by Columbia attorney Dan Viets, who supported the ballot initiative to lessen penalties for possessing marijuana. Voters defeated the ballot proposal later in April. But the commission voted at its June 18 meeting to refer the ethics case to Attorney General Jay Nixon's office -- a move not disclosed until later.The Ethics Commission on Wednesday rejected an open-records law request from The Associated Press, saying none of the documents in the ACT Missouri case fell under the law's provisions.The attorney general's office declined to comment about the case.Viets, however, provided a copy of his original ethics complaint, which alleges that ACT Missouri's newspaper ads did not identify who had paid for them and that the organization failed to report its campaign expenditures.After Viets filed his complaint, ACT Missouri did file a campaign disclosure report indicating it had spent $1,675 on ads in the Columbia Daily Tribune.Viets' complaint also charged that the group, which has a nonprofit status, violated election laws by using tax-deductible donations for campaign purposes.Peggy Quigg, executive director of ACT Missouri, said Wednesday she had not been notified about the attorney general's involvement. She said the marijuana ballot measure marked the first time in the organization's dozen years it had gotten involved in a political issue."We're not a political action campaign group, we're a community drug prevention education group. We were simply trying to provide the community information to make an informed decision," Quigg said. "If there were errors made in regards to the Ethics Commission, we'll do what we can to set things straight."Viets also said he had not been notified about the Ethics Commission's action."I suspect that why they have been referred to the attorney general is because they solicited donations on their Web site claiming that money sent to them is tax deductible," Viets said, "yet it seems clear that they used that money to oppose this initiative, which is clearly not kosher."Quigg said the group receives funding from various sources and did not necessarily use tax-deductible donations for the political ads.Viets is the Missouri coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He also represents the Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, the organization that supported the marijuana ballot proposal.The proposal would have made Columbia the only place in Missouri where doctors could prescribe marijuana for the seriously ill. Nine states and several local governments have approved the practice, amid legal challenges from the federal government.The proposal's sentencing section would have required that arrests for possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana within the city be handled in municipal court rather than circuit court.Source: Associated PressAuthor: David A. Lieb, The Associated Press Published: Thursday, July 17, 2003Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Missouri NORMLhttp://www.gstlnorml.org/Prop. 1 Failure Effects Reach Beyond Columbiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15968.shtmlPot Proposition Fails - Columbia Missourian http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15914.shtmlColumbia Voters Reject Marijuana Propositionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15910.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by paulpeterson on July 19, 2003 at 08:01:47 PT ETHICS IS THE WAY TO WIN THE WAR God fearing or not, the "good citizens" of America (those silent-mostly non-tokers) don't like crooked cops and lawyers. Therefore, the ethics route is the best darned way to get these goons tied up.This campaign corruption angle is perfect! "They" (those amorphous groups of non-defined persons) try to stop abuses borne of special interest groups, ie: outside "agitators", and now, it seems, perchance, that the laws designed for exclusion of participation are actually HELPING US FOR A CHANGE!Keep up the good work out there!We've got those MAIL FRAUD laws, those state ETHICAL CODES for lawyers, loss of immunity for bad cops that do the Unconstitutional thing, etc.My favorite is the McDade law, whereby federal lawyers are supposed to be beholden to state ethical standards-(Of course, the FBI has a compact with the state ethical police in Illinois, meaning that they REFUSE TO INVESTIGATE THE LAWYER GOONS FOR MAIL FRAUD!Oh well, the tide is turning all over. Now Wisconsin has a big tiff over DA's taking bribes-THE FBI IS INVESTIGATING THESE GOONS! Maybe I need to make friends with the Wisconsin FBI since my own Al Capone office of the FBI (In Chicago, that is), won't go bang-bang about these Illinois abuses! Keep the heat on! PAUL [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on July 17, 2003 at 18:26:27 PT Hot Potato "But the (ethics)commission voted at its June 18 meeting to refer the ethics case to Attorney General Jay Nixon's office -- a move not disclosed until later.The Ethics Commission on Wednesday rejected an open-records law request from The Associated Press, saying none of the documents in the ACT Missouri case fell under the law's provisions.The attorney general's office declined to comment about the case."Looks like nobody wants to touch this one! It's no wonder that ACT Missouri's newspaper ads didn't identify who had paid for them. Either ACT Missouri had already lost credibility prior to the election or they were worried about losing all credibility by placing such bogus ads. It's just like the ONDCP crying about having to claim ownership of it's bogus newspaper,radio & TV ads. They know they have lost the battle for public opinion & would rather remain hidden behing the scenes where they can't be ridiculed or questioned about their lies. Sit back & enjoy as prohibition dies a thousand deaths.The way out is the way in...Who's Who on the 9/11 "Independent" Commission: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0307/S00148.htmForeknowledge of 9/11: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG204A.htmlExposing NORAD's Wag The 9/11 Window Dressing Tale: http://www.standdown.net/index.htm9/11 Facts: http://www.tvnewslies.org/html/9_11_facts.html9/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive: http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledgeBLOOD IN THE WATER - Watergate II - by Michael C. Ruppert: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/071503_watergate_II.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment