cannabisnews.com: Activists Push for Change in Marijuana Law Activists Push for Change in Marijuana Law Posted by CN Staff on December 07, 2003 at 18:30:41 PT By Zack Phillips, Journal Staff Writer Source: Northern Virginia Journal Possession, as the legal truism goes, is nine-tenths of the law. It is also one-twentieth of the cost, according to a recent study. A George Mason University analysis released this fall concluded that marijuana possession cases account for more than 5 percent of local law enforcement budgets. Several anti-prohibition activists trumpeted the study this week in asking state lawmakers to reclassify the crime to a less severe category, a change they say could save Virginia localities millions of dollars annually. Representatives from the advocacy group Virginians Against Drug Violence on Wednesday asked the Virginia State Crime Commission to designate first-time marijuana possession as a class 3 or class 4 misdemeanor. Under existing state law, the crime is an unclassified misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. Class 3 and class 4 misdemeanors carry fines - $500 and $250, respectively - but no jail time. Lennice Werth, director of the Crewe, Va.-based organization, said she is optimistic that lawmakers will make the change, eventually. ``This year, I don't know, which is a shame because they really have a budget crisis and a lot of it's going to fall on cities and counties," Werth said. ``I'm really sorry that they don't take it seriously." The State Crime Commission, a standing committee of the General Assembly that makes recommendations on how to modify state law, is reorganizing Virginia's criminal code. The study, funded with a grant from the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project and authored by Stephen S. Fuller and Jon B. Gettman of George Mason's School of Public Policy, concluded that the re-classification could save local governments $44 million a year. Jurisdictions spend that much to arrest, apprehend and prosecute suspects in such cases, the analysis found. ``If you take the minor offenses and kind of say `OK, we're just going to deal with this by having people send in their money like a traffic ticket,' then the police have time to [work on] other things, like more serious drug crimes and terrorism," Werth said. Though specific figures have not been tabulated, observers say first-time marijuana offenders rarely serve jail time. A survey of criminal justice professionals ranked the charge the seventh-least severe out of 288 crimes in Virginia. Still, the commission has no plans to include the proposed change in the recommendations it presents to the General Assembly. ``There's no political will to reduce the penalty when it comes to any drug crime," said Del. Brian J. Moran, D-Alexandria, a member of the commission. ``The current system requires counseling and community service and license suspension. That seems to be an appropriate sanction for marijuana possession." Moran said the change would be viewed as a step toward decriminalizing marijuana possession. Werth disagreed. ``I'm pretty conservative in a lot of ways about spending taxes and what limited government should be," Werth said. ``I think conservatives should agree with an approach like this, but I'll grant you that many don't." Source: Northern Virginia Journal (VA)Author: Zack Phillips, Journal Staff WriterPublished: December 05, 2003Copyright: 2003 Northern Virginia JournalContact: vaedit jrnl.comWebsite: http://www.jrnl.com/cfdocs/new/ffx/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Virginians Against Drug Violencehttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfva/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment