cannabisnews.com: A Change in Marijuana Prosecution Eyed





A Change in Marijuana Prosecution Eyed
Posted by CN Staff on September 26, 2004 at 08:07:39 PT
By Eric Ferkenhoff, Globe Correspondent
Source: Boston Globe 
Chicago -- Mayor Richard M. Daley has endorsed a proposal to issue fines for possession of small amounts of marijuana rather than clog the courts with cases that tend to be thrown out by judges.Daley said the volume of marijuana cases that are tossed out by local courts -- upwards of 90 percent, according to one recent study -- mean minor possession is virtually decriminalized in Chicago now.
''If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out, when is there a credible arrest for marijuana?" Daley said last week. ''They throw all the cases out. It doesn't mean anything."Much of the national debate on decriminalizing marijuana has focused on its medicinal use. But Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C., said a growing number of cities and states are developing alternatives to prosecuting minor marijuana busts to unclog jammed court systems and free officers to focus on more serious crimes.''There's a growing sense among people who just look at the hard-nosed practicality of the situation that this is not a sensible use of police and criminal justice system time and resources," he said.Mirken said his group has tracked at least 11 states -- California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon -- that have fashioned laws relaxing criminal penalities in minor marijuana cases. In many cases, police are now allowed to issue citations instead of making arrests.The Marijuana Policy Project argues that states should go even further, decriminalizing marijuana use and possession entirely, since Mirken contends there are no studies indicating a definitive link between tough laws and lower marijuana usage.''If you go into a store that sells cigarettes, you see yellow and red signs warning buyers they have to be 18," he said. ''Have you ever seen a drug dealer with a sign like that? Regulation gives society some control, but prohibition . . . just turns the market over to gangsters."Daley stopped short of calling for state or city laws to legalize marijuana possession. His comments Tuesday came a day after the release of a report written by a South Side police sergeant indicating 94 percent of the 6,954 cases filed in Chicago in 2003 involving 2.5 grams or less of marijuana were either dismissed by the judge or dropped by prosecutors. The same report showed that of the 6,945 cases involving 10 grams or less, 81 percent were dropped, along with 52 percent of the 1,261 cases involving up to 30 grams.''While officers are doing everything to keep the streets safe, the offender gets arrested and is walking the street in just a few hours," wrote Sergeant Thomas Donegan in the seven-page report sent to police officials. ''To me, this is a slap in the face to the officers."Officials in the Police Department and the Cook County State's Attorneys office said prosecutions often fail because of weak cases brought by police, officers or lab technicians don't show up for court, or a lack of interest in such minor cases among some judges and prosecutors.Donegan, who did not return a request for comment, in his report suggested fines of $250 for 10 grams or less, $500 for up to 20 grams, and $1,000 for up to 30 grams. Using those numbers, Donegan wrote the city could have collected ''well over $5 million" in fines in 2003. Donegan wrote the city could also have saved millions more by not having the officers process the suspects, do paperwork, and testify in court.Daley said he agreed a smarter approach might be to free officers from wasting a day in court -- or filling out reams of paperwork -- by slapping offenders instead with a fine that could raise millions for strapped city coffers.''It's always a priority to make sure officers are spending as much time on the street as possible," said police spokesman David Bayless. ''We need to strike a balance to make sure the offenders are penalized in some way and making sure officers on are not taken off the street for cases that aren't going anywhere."Bayless said the department chief of staff and legal advisers to Superintendent Phil Cline would study Donegan's proposal. But it was too early, he said, to say whether the department would push for such a change in city ordinances. John Gorman, spokesman for Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine, said prosecutors will soon meet with Police Department officials to consider the proposal. Note: Chicago considers bid to issue fines in certain cases.Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Eric Ferkenhoff, Globe CorrespondentPublished: September 26, 2004Copyright: 2004 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Regulation Increases Control Over Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19540.shtmlU.S. Neither For Nor Against Plan To Fine for Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19537.shtmlDaley: Just Ticket Marijuana Users http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19525.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by Overwhelmsam on September 27, 2004 at 05:20:06 PT
I guess the US governments knows, 
but don't care that the are the biggest hypicrites in the eyes of other countries. On the one hand we criticize Canada and other countries for decriminalizing marijuana, and then cities across America throw marijuana cases out and ease laws left and right. Has America become the world's biggest hypocrite and spoiled rotten brat?No wonder terrorist attack us, and the rest of the world can't stand us.
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Comment #3 posted by Critto on September 27, 2004 at 03:37:36 PT
Which side to take??
Well, I'm 100 % for LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA. And, besides, of ALL narcotic drugs altogether.I dunno, however, which side take in the cases like this, judging on the effect FOR the decriminalization and legalization. How do you think, WHAT is better:1. tough penalties, but enforced by NOBODY?
2. small penalties (fines instead of prison), but vigorously enforced?Which one brings us closer to the realm of LEGAL (or, at least, not-so-penalized) marijuana? Does any of those meet the criteria?In Liberty,
Critto
LIBERTARYZM=LIBERTARIANISM
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 26, 2004 at 10:05:28 PT
Winds of Change
afterburner I love your subject line. 
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on September 26, 2004 at 09:52:00 PT
Winds of Change
This the son of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley who once called peaceful demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, "outside agitators." ' ... a federal commission investigating the events later described them as a "police riot," blaming Daley for inciting the police to commit violence. ' --Richard J. Daley - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._DaleyNow, his son Richard Michael Daley, Mayor of Chicago since 1989, is in favor of a net-widening proposal to levy excessive fines for cannabis possession because Chicago already has virtual decriminalization. Decriminalization (the dreaded D- word, which like the dreaded L- word sends shivers up and down the spines of prohibitionists everywhere) is the goal of cannabis reform groups. Richard Michael Daley should just leave well enough alone. What is the moral justification for inordinate and stratospheric fines for a victimless activity, which was criminalized by hysterical propaganda? What is the moral justification for continuing to harass medical cannabis patients, spiritual seekers, and social tokers? Any damages to society are magnified to unimaginable levels by cannabis prohibition itself, which fuels the black market and all the unregulated criminal side effects, like gang violence; and the damage to families, individuals, the job pool, and the social fabric, caused by enforcement of cruel and unusual punishments of mandatory minimums, denial of student aid, and over-the-top paraphernalia laws. ego transcendence trumps ego destruction when the will of WE THE PEOPLE makes itself known in the voters' booths to recall all relentless politicians who prey on citizens of the gentle cannabis culture.
Richard M. Daley - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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