cannabisnews.com: Pro Pot Laws Called a Success 





Pro Pot Laws Called a Success 
Posted by CN Staff on October 22, 2005 at 13:01:05 PT
By Reilly Capps
Source: Telluride Daily Planet
USA -- A man stood in a Seattle park this month in a kind of showdown with the police. Behind him was a crowd celebrating the opening of a new park with a haze of marijuana smoke. In front of him were about 10 cops, who seemed unsure of what they should do next, aside from politely asking the crowd not to smoke pot while the cops were standing there.But, according to several accounts of the event, a man named Dominic Holden faced the police and spoke passionately about the drug laws in America. He said he respected the Seattle police for arresting serious criminals, but that he asked the police to respect the will of the voters, who had said they wanted marijuana to be the "lowest law enforcement priority."
When he was done, he lit a joint a passed it along."I was protesting the fact that marijuana consumption is illegal," Holden said, "and that adults who smoke marijuana are treated as criminals."But in Seattle, anymore, they aren't.When Holden lit up his joint, the police politely asked him to leave the park, and issued him a seven-day Park Exclusion Notice. This means he could not re-enter the park for seven days. Holden called it "the wettest noodle in all of SPD's arsenal.""A few years ago, post WTO (protests in 1999), marijuana smoke would have been consumed by tear gas," said Holden, a prominent Seattle activist. "A paddy wagon would have left the park packed with stoners."But that was before Seattle passed I-75, which makes marijuana possession by adults the "lowest law enforcement priority."Two cities on the West Coast have already passed legislation similar to Telluride's Question 200, the marijuana initiative that will be on the ballot Nov. 1. Seattle passed its I-75 in 2003, and Oakland passed its Measure Z in 2004.And if you want to know how Question 200 might affect Telluride, you could do worse than to look at those two cities, and ask people there how they've been affected.While it may be too early to tell, and while results in both cities have been mixed, no one in either city could point to a negative effect that was measurable and concrete.The Raw DataSeattle has formed a "Marijuana Policy Review Panel," which keeps scrupulous records of drug busts. According to city attorney, Tom Carr, marijuana arrests have dropped dramatically, from about 300 a year before I-75 to about 100 a year now.In Oakland, on the other hand, data is not so easy to come by, and supporters of Measure Z say the city has dragged its feet."It's hard to know what's happening in law enforcement because the data's so poor," said Dale Gieringer, co-author of Oakland's Measure Z.Gieringer and other supporters flooded a city council meeting this week to demand that the oversight committee required by Measure Z - and similar to the panel in Seattle - be named to study the impact of the measure.Pete Sarna of the Oakland Police Department said that narcotics arrests of all kinds were down 40 percent, although he said that the drop could have a lot to do with the fact that the Oakland Police Department is understaffed.Gieringer said he thinks Oakland Police are going easier on pot smokers.Some in Seattle, including Holden, said I-75 has been an unabashed success. He said he looks at every marijuana arrest report, and hasn't seen a single instance where someone was arrested simply for having pot. All the arrests came while the person was committing another crime.Another member of the panel, social activist Theryn Kigvamasud'Vashti, said the results have been less clear."It sounds way easier than it is," Kigvamasud'Vashti said. "The police aren't really changing anything about their behavior."Police and Prosecutors are FrustratedLaw enforcement officials in both cities are less than enthusiastic about the initiatives.They say they're frustrated, caught between conflicting and contradictory laws, none of which they can enforce fully."We have our state telling us to enforce the laws. We've got our population telling us 'don't take these laws too seriously.' In the world of prosecutors and police it doesn't make any sense," said Seattle attorney Carr. "It puts the police and prosecutors in a very difficult position."While arrests for marijuana are down in his city, Carr said that could simply be part of a larger trend that's been going on for years, and not necessarily the result of the legislation.Police in Oakland say they haven't much changed their tactics."I don't think it means anything, and I don't think that that measure has affected the way we conduct our business," said Sarna, head of the Vice Section of the Oakland Police Department. "If that measure wasn't in place we'd still be doing exactly what we're doing."Oakland police have always focused on marijuana sales and distribution, not mere possession, Sarna said.That policy continues. From March 8 to Oct. 16, Sarna said, his division made 915 felony arrests. Only one of those was for simple possession of marijuana. (Seventeen people were arrested for selling marijuana and 22 were arrested for possession with intent to distribute.)"We're not going to tolerate people selling marijuana," he said. And if cops see or smell weed, Sarna said, they'll likely take action. "OK, it's the 'lowest law enforcement priority.' But if I see it, I can still take action on it."Oakland has a more complicated marijuana situation than Seattle, since Oakland allows medical marijuana to be sold to sick people with prescriptions at licensed dispensaries. News reports and cops say that those medical marijuana shops are often centers of crime, as patients purchase marijuana in bulk and then sell it for a profit. Sarna said that a man was recently killed while trying to rob a medical marijuana dispensary.(Telluride's Question 200 says nothing about medical marijuana.)Oakland was also once the home of "cannabis clubs," private clubs where members could buy and smoke weed. Cops once looked the other way while these clubs, including the famous Bulldog Café in a district known as "Oaksterdam," sold marijuana. Police have since cracked down on those clubs, according to news reports.Few Negative Effects SeenBut even the most ardent opponents of these measures, have had a hard time coming up with concrete examples of how the ordinances have been a detriment. They saw no increase in driving under the influence of marijuana, no increase in overall use.Holden, the Seattle supporter, said that the results have gone a long way to disprove the dire predictions of opponents."It helps prove that 'reefer madness' is a sham," Holden said.And many have said that Seattle has become a less paranoid and more pleasant city than it was three years ago."People don't feel that they have to lock themselves up in their homes and close all their blinds in order to smoke marijuana," Holden said. People with marijuana in their house don't have to be afraid of calling the police after a break-in, and they aren't so afraid to admit to being a smoker. "This gives people the ability to come to their friends and simply say 'I smoke marijuana' without fear. It means a better community, and overall makes Seattle a more livable city."Legalization is The Long-Range GoalWhatever the immediate effects in Seattle and Oakland have been, whatever changes have been made in law enforcement, whatever has happened to the arrest rates - all of which may be beside the point.These are not local ordinances designed to fix local problems, in the same way that voters might decide to put up a traffic light at a dangerous intersection. Few people in Seattle or Oakland ever believed that cops were overly harsh in their treatment of recreational marijuana users.The activists who passed these ordinances are thinking nationally. They want marijuana legalized in their states and in the country."This is the way it worked for medical marijuana in California," said Heather MacDonald, a reporter for the Oakland Tribune who has covered marijuana issues. "We had a few cities pass medical marijuana legislation and then the whole state passed it."If enough cities de-criminalize marijuana, maybe the entire state will, supporters reason.By proving that easing up on marijuana enforcement does not create crime, and by allowing voters to show support for a taxed and regulated system of distribution, perhaps it could pave the way for wider legislation that would end marijuana prohibition."It's certainly a step in changing the way states think," said Holden. "And states' action can set a precedent for what can happen throughout the country."Oakland's Measure Z, much like Telluride's Question 200, advocates Amsterdam-style coffee shops, if possible. Measure Z directs Oakland to tax and regulate marijuana and establish coffee shops as soon as California law allows it, and to lobby the state of California to legalize marijuana. The co-author, Gieringer, said that he would like to see private, adult cannabis clubs open in the city soon. A clear majority of bay area residents agree, according to polls."Legalizing is the only thing that makes economic sense," said Gieringer. "Around here, even our opponents admitted that legalization was the way to go. They just didn't think Oakland should be the first one." Source: Telluride Daily Planet (CO)Author: Reilly CappsPublished: Saturday, October 22, 2005Copyright: 2005 Telluride Daily PlanetContact: editor telluridenews.comWebsite: http://www.telluridegateway.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Sensible Coloradohttp://www.sensiblecolorado.org/Telluride Considering 'Sensible' Pot Ordinancehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20969.shtmlColorado Pot Push Bypasses Aspen for Telluridehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20759.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on October 26, 2005 at 08:29:49 PT
What Is your Point? 
"Pete Sarna of the Oakland Police Department ... 
said that a man was recently killed while trying to rob a medical marijuana dispensary."Are you implying that marijuana dispensaries should not exist in the community?
People rob banks, gas stations and convenience stores, too. Should these service institutions not exist in the community?
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Comment #6 posted by unkat27 on October 23, 2005 at 12:05:44 PT
Fact omission tactics, as Usual
"Oakland police have always focused on marijuana sales and distribution, not mere possession, Sarna said."And of course, he quite conveniently omits the fact that cops arrest people for possession to coerce them into snitching on dealers.
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on October 23, 2005 at 05:40:23 PT
A Sham
"It helps prove that 'reefer madness' is a sham," Holden said.Cannabis is shaking it's bad reputation. That is bad news for the prohibitionists! As the truth becomes known we wonder why we were lied to for so long. We are not happy about that.THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Theologian Says Controlled Demolition is Now a Fact, Not a Theory:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=699Mission improbable: Author challenges the official story of 9/11:
http://www.vermontguardian.com/national/102005/911.shtml'The Savage Nation' Radio Show Silences Real Truth Behind 9/11:
http://www.arcticbeacon.citymaker.com/articles/article/1518131/35814.htmBelievers of the Official Version of 9/11: Where the Hell Is YOUR Proof?
http://tvnewslies.org/html/where_the_hell_is_your_9_11_pr.html
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Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 23, 2005 at 04:44:32 PT
Sung to the Tune of, "Like toy Soldiers"
City by city,State by state,Marijuana laws,They all fall down,Like Toy Soldiers.
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2005 at 14:45:22 PT
After the Civil War
America, was looking at a lot of poor niggas in the Blessed South, hope that you all have enough food, and some shelter, maybe Jesus whould have given comfort to a Nigga, I know, that is a disgusting word, times change, the suffering poor, have many names, some times they are called Liberals, while those faithful conservitives hold the last grounds.Yes, this old fool is getting older and bolder, 
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Comment #2 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2005 at 14:02:00 PT
Indenture
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/It's official: as of October 18th, the National Debt has risen to over eight trillion dollars. Incidentally, it was back in December 2003, less than two years ago, that the Debt surpassed a "mere" seven trillion dollars.The estimated population of the United States is 297,502,751
so each citizen's share of this debt is $26,907.83.That is a lot of money, please dont Bogart that joint,
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2005 at 13:31:22 PT
Sometimes I wander
"But, according to several accounts of the event, a man named Dominic Holden faced the police and spoke passionately about the drug laws in America. He said he respected the Seattle police for arresting serious criminals, but that he asked the police to respect the will of the voters, who had said they wanted marijuana to be the "lowest law enforcement priority."When he was done, he lit a joint a passed it along...I don't know what Jesus would do, but I wonder if John Walters would have taken a hook and then passed it on to Karen Tandy, I wonder if George Dubya would have taken a hook and passed it on to William Jefferson?
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