cannabisnews.com: Pot Advocates Hope Third Try Proves Charm Pot Advocates Hope Third Try Proves Charm Posted by CN Staff on October 23, 2004 at 07:58:58 PT By Dave Moore of the Tribune’s Staff Source: Columbia Daily Tribune Penny and Joseph Brotherton live next door to Tina Edholm in a west Columbia neighborhood, but they’re miles apart over two initiatives on the Nov. 2 ballot to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in the city.Edholm will vote against the ballot initiatives for the following reason: "After working with individuals who have had substantial marijuana use, I’ve seen how it can destroy their lives. They lack initiative and concern for their personal well-being." The Brothertons say that the ballot issues would have police treat marijuana as what it is: a natural drug safer than alcohol.Proposition 1 would allow seriously ill people to use marijuana with the permission of their doctors. If arrested, the highest fine they would have to pay is $50.Proposition 2 would make all misdemeanor marijuana arrests civil matters in municipal court that would net at the most a $250 fine and result in no criminal record. The group that placed both issues on the ballot, Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, or CAPE, promotes Proposition 2 as a means for students to keep their government grants even if they are arrested for having small amounts of marijuana. Both proposals involve marijuana weighing up to 1¼ ounces.Several prospective voters questioned by the Tribune were unaware of details of either proposal.CAPE claims several reasons to be optimistic. The ballot issues have:* Won endorsements from the board of directors of the Columbia League of Women Voters. * Attracted a $50,000 campaign contribution from the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which publicizes initiatives to reduce or eliminate penalties for marijuana possession.* The potential to benefit from young voters casting ballots in the presidential election.* No organized opposition. That’s a contrast with last year, when a similar proposition on the city ballot drew opposition from local, state and federal officials. That ballot issue failed 58 percent to 42 percent; a 1985 marijuana proposition in the city failed 57 percent to 43 percent.Columbia attorney Dan Viets, a leader of CAPE, argues that voting for the measure only codifies existing Columbia police policy.Police Chief Randy Boehm, however, said both propositions differ from his policies. Boehm adopted a rule in April 2003, directing practically all cases involving just first-time misdemeanor marijuana possession to municipal court, where violators are subject to fines but not criminal records.Boehm said Columbia police sometimes send second- or third-time offenders to state court. They also combine marijuana charges with other charges that are sent to state courts, and they automatically send marijuana cases to state court if they’re connected with search warrants.The incongruity between the marijuana initiatives and Boehm’s policy is just one example of many hurdles that proponents face in getting their issues passed. That’s why Viets is working with University of Missouri-Columbia students to spread the word at forums in Columbia.He and others are also are rallying support from patients and students, who arguably stand the most to gain if the initiatives should pass. Among them is Christy Welliver, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.Welliver told the Tribune she has friends with MS who moved to Columbia from California and learned they could no longer legally purchase marijuana to treat muscle spasms related to the disease.In California, patients older than 18 in several cities can receive medical marijuana cards allowing them to buy marijuana at authorized outlets. Ten states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.While Welliver said she doesn’t use marijuana, she said her legs recently started to suffer from spasms, making it difficult to bend them to conform to her wheelchair in the daytime and difficult to straighten her legs so she can sleep at night.Welliver and others also argue in favor of Proposition 2, saying the penalty of having a state or federal criminal record outweighs the seriousness of being caught with a little bit of marijuana. They contend that pulling grants from students can force them out of college.Proposition proponents readily cite research to argue that reducing penalties for its possession wouldn’t make marijuana use more common and that marijuana is less addictive than nicotine and alcohol.Despite the absence of a counterpunch to CAPE, one local opponent believes the measure will fail again because core beliefs in Columbia aren’t consistent with either proposition."I don’t see much sense in decriminalizing it," said Kim Dude, who is director of the MU Wellness Resource Center but offered a personal opinion. Marijuana use "has an effect on short-term memory and has an effect on motivation, and both of those would be harmful to the college students."Note: Two marijuana issues on Columbia ballot.Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)Author: Dave Moore of the Tribune’s Staff Published: Saturday, October 23, 2004Copyright: 2004 Columbia Daily TribuneContact: editor tribmail.comWebsite: http://www.columbiatribune.com/Related Articles & Web Sites: NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Outsiders Help Fund Pot Issues http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19685.shtmlInitiatives To Reform Marijuana Laws Filedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19108.shtmlPetitioners Turn in Extra Signatures http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19099.shtmlPot Petitions Aim for Spot on City Ballot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19001.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by breeze on October 24, 2004 at 12:28:00 PT Siege I must have missed where he mentioned the two country singers, but then again when I read, I mostly scan.I know of a few people who do see W as a god, if only figurativley.Strange, to admire a politician as a man of great knowledge is one thing- but to hold such a high esteem for someone as to believe that they are a divine being is another entirely- but even stranger, these people do hold W with that much honor, even beyond their own family.I am sure that many people in the recording industry hold W as a divine being- as well as the media, its fairly obvious. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by siege on October 24, 2004 at 05:25:39 PT breeze If you had red He singled out the country singer Toby Keith and the band The Dixie Chicks as two examples of the way pro- and anti-Bush opinions were received.I hear people are lining up to get learner permits to be like there GOD God BUSH. lmao while he falls though his butt all the time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by breeze on October 24, 2004 at 00:48:49 PT Siege- To some up why Sir Elton thinks this way, look at what happened to the Dixie Chicks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 23, 2004 at 17:37:01 PT News Article from The UK New Art Show 'Glamorises' Drug Culture:http://news.independent.co.uk/media/story.jsp?story=575462 [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by siege on October 23, 2004 at 15:32:12 PT SIR ELTON JOHN off tpoic That's not happening now. As of this spring, there have been virtually no anti-war concerts - or anti-war songs that catch on, for that matter," he said. The millionaire singer said entertainers who criticised the Bush administration or its policy on the Iraq war risked damage to their careers.http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/2442004.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by siege on October 23, 2004 at 15:07:47 PT One for Dr: Russo Elton John: 'Cannabis behind Throat Op' October 23, 2004, 9:31:49Flamboyant rocker SIR ELTON JOHN used to smoke so much cannabis he was forced to undergo surgery to save his voice,http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/11352004.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on October 23, 2004 at 14:59:17 PT More Kim Dude trivia for a slow news day Scattered quotes from http://www.888betsoff.com/news/kim_dude.htmKim Dude, the director of the University of Missouri-Columbia Wellness Resource Center, recently was named the recipient of the second annual Outstanding Contributor Award presented by the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling. ...This statewide award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated superior achievement in addressing issues of problem and pathological gambling in Missouri. ...According to Dude, the 2004 statewide health survey indicated that 49.9 percent of the college students surveyed participated in at least one gambling activity in the past year.I wonder if she thinks a criminal record and loss of student aid would help solve the gambling problem. Or, should we just go after the big fish like William Bennett? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by CorvallisEric on October 23, 2004 at 14:37:39 PT Source of the Kim Dude biography http://www.alcohol101plus.org/main/dude.cfm [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by siege on October 23, 2004 at 11:04:44 PT Kim Dude This is why she Kim Dude "I don’t see much sense in decriminalizing it," she will lose her Big Fat Pay Check and have to work like eveyone else. Marijuana use "has an effect on short-term memory and has an effect on motivation, Is that why so many PotHeads have well paying Jobs and work in high places in society and this would be helpful in motivating the college students and others in there life style.Biography of Kim DudeAll together, Kim has written and received seven grants from the U.S. Department of Education and eleven from the Missouri Division of Highway Safety. She recently received a large grant from the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse to help support a state-wide coalition of public colleges and universities called partners In Prevention. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 23, 2004 at 09:44:21 PT Just a Note I hope everyone has a nice weekend. The news is slow because of the presidential elections being top priority. I am not as worried anymore about the elections so maybe soon we will see something good happen in the future. I do believe change is in the air. I'll keep looking for news though. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment