cocacrazy
Bluelighter
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- Apr 26, 2008
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Pot's Shot
TheStranger.com, WA
Marijuana Decriminalization Struggles in the Legislature
by Dominic Holden
Twelve Democrats are cosponsoring a bill in the state house that would reduce the penalty for possessing up to 40 grams of marijuana to a civil infraction, subject to a $100 fine. It would only decriminalize marijuana possession, not legalize it. Introduced on January 14, this is the first legislative attempt to reform Washington's marijuana laws in decades. Under current state law, possessing even one joint is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.
But does it stand a chance?
This seems an unlikely year for the legislature to embrace any civil-liberty-lovin' proposals, considering the top item on their agenda: bridging the state's $6 billion budget gap. However, the financial crisis may, paradoxically, prove a windfall. According to data from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, the state would save $7.5 million a year by passing the law—a figure that's based on the 11,553 pot-possession arrests in Washington in 2007.
"I think any chances of passing will hinge on the opportunity to achieve budget savings and whether this proposal is less unpopular than other proposals for cost savings," says the bill's prime sponsor, Representative Dave Upthegrove (D-33). "Is it more controversial than closing parks?"
Upthegrove also hopes that, as a suburban representative, he gives the bill "a little political cover."
But the bill has already hit a roadblock. Representative Christopher Hurst (D-31), a former narcotics officer and ex-cop who chairs the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, refuses to give the bill a hearing. "I am concerned that [the bill] is in direct conflict with federal law," which makes possessing any quantity of marijuana a crime, he says. "If we tell citizens of Washington that marijuana is no longer a crime, and they cross the border and get arrested... or if they go out on their boat [and are arrested by the Coast Guard], they are not going to be happy with us."
However, it's unclear whether the federal government would bother prosecuting people for such a minor crime. Even federal law-enforcement officers can treat possession of up to an ounce of marijuana as an infraction, rather than arresting and jailing an offender. And Representative Roger Goodman (D-45), an attorney and former head of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project, says, "Federal law clearly allows the states to prescribe their own penalties, whether civil or criminal."
"Thirteen other states have already [decriminalized marijuana]"—including Massachusetts, where a measure similar to the one in the Washington State legislature passed a public vote in November by a 30-point margin—"and we haven't seen any of those other states struggle with [the] problem" of federal prosecution, says Alison Holcomb, director of the ACLU of Washington's Drug Policy Project. California has made possession of marijuana a civil infraction, and, like Washington, it also sits on an international border and has a coastline patrolled by federal agents.
Hurst says that if a companion bill passes in the state senate and comes to his committee, he will give it a hearing.
State senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) says she'll introduce companion legislation within a week. But the bill faces an uphill battle in the senate, where it will have to get out of the judiciary committee. Three of the committee's eight members are Republicans and another member is conservative Democrat James Hargrove (D-24).
Meanwhile, no Republicans have cosponsored the current bill, making it a lefty long shot that could take years to pass, cosponsor Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia) acknowledges. Cal Anderson, Washington's first gay legislator, "used to be a voice in the wilderness on gay civil-rights issues," he says. "You just keep plugging away and people start thinking in terms of the change."
Decriminalization law proposed for small amounts of pot in Vermont
By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: February 4, 2009
MONTPELIER – At least 20 House lawmakers have attached their names to legislation that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The bill, introduced by Rep. David Zuckerman, would treat possession of an ounce or less of pot as a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Zuckerman, a Burlington Progressive, said Tuesday that the time has come for Vermont to replace criminal marijuana statutes that are heavy handed and out of touch.
"This is about policy falling in line with common culture and removing the criminal label from something commonly used as a recreational drug," Zuckerman said Tuesday.
The issue earned widespread attention in the Statehouse last year when Senate lawmakers considered a similar proposal. Though a public hearing, attended by about 100 people, and extensive committee testimony revealed popular support for the measure, the bill never passed through the General Assembly.
Prospects don't look any brighter this year. House Speaker Shap Smith indicated Tuesday that his body will be focusing on the state's immediate economic crisis – likely to the exclusion of marijuana decriminalization.
Rep. William Lippert, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his committee is too overwhelmed with a huge anti sex-crimes bill to dedicate any time right now to the issue.
"I see no likelihood we will be taking up anything other than S.13 between now and Town Meeting Day," Lippert said. "What happens after then I don't even know."
Still, decriminalization proponents said Vermont would be well served to at least consider the debate. Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand, among the more respected advocates of marijuana decriminalization, said too much police work is focused on too benign a crime.
"I think how we respond to marijuana creates more public harm than the use of the substance itself, and to me that suggests we should find a way to change our response," Sand said Tuesday.
People caught with an ounce or less of marijuana aren't languishing in jail cells, Sand said. But police are expending valuable public safety resources on arrests and related paperwork.
"It frees police up so they're not spending hours processing a low-end, small-quantity marijuana case, and that to me is a reasonable incremental step in adjusting how we respond to marijuana use," Sand said.
The decriminalization issue now has its own nonprofit advocacy organization. The Vermont Alliance for Intelligent Drug Laws, a one-woman shop in Montpelier, promises to galvanize grassroots support around Zuckerman's bill.
"We should not be making criminals out of people who choose to use a substance that remains illegal for reasons that are unreasonable and make no sense," said Nancy Lynch, head of VALID.
Lynch pointed to a Jan. 9 Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Vermont voters. The poll, commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., (also a key financial backer of VALID) found that 63 percent of residents supported a $100 civil fine, with no possibility of jail time, for people caught with an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use.
Lynch said 12 other states have passed decriminalized small-quantity possession, the most recent being Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would decriminalize marijuana there as well.
The proposal faces stiff opposition from Vermont's law enforcement community, which testified last year against the bill. Gov. James Douglas also has voiced concerns over the measure.
Zuckerman said the budget crisis notwithstanding, legislators ought to be able to balance a range of bills in a single session. Rep. David Deen, a Putney Democrat and co-sponsor of the decriminalization bill, said it's unfair to dismiss the legislation as a "boutique" issue.
"(The Statehouse) is a place to explore ideas and calling something names is thwarting democracy," Deen said. "If you're 18 years old and you get popped for two joints and end up with a criminal record, this bill is not a boutique issue."
State Budget Deficit May Aid Marijuana Reform Effort
By DANIELA ALTIMARI | The Hartford Courant
January 26, 2009
Two prominent lawmakers pushing for reform of the state's marijuana laws have a potent new ally: the budget deficit.
Sen. Toni Harp, chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee, and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney hope economics will succeed where other arguments have failed in convincing their colleagues that the costs of prosecuting and punishing pot smokers is an expense Connecticut can no longer afford.
"We've got to take a strong look at what we want to pay for as a state," said Harp, D- New Haven, who with Looney is co-sponsoring a bill that would punish low-level marijuana users with a fine, not a criminal charge.
"To waste our resources on this small problem is not a good use of the people's money."
No one is proposing that marijuana be legalized, but Harp and Looney want to see possession of small amounts — 1 ounce or less — decriminalized, just as it was in Massachusetts in November. If the bill is approved, offenders would be given tickets and assessed fines instead of facing criminal penalties. Getting caught with a joint would be akin to getting nabbed for speeding.
"The experience in Massachusetts is indicative that the public may be ahead of elected officials in this one," said Looney, D-New Haven.
A Harvard study found that Massachusetts police spend about $30 million a year on arresting and investigating low-level marijuana users.
Connecticut legislators also will consider a measure that would reduce the size of drug-free school zones. Under state law, any drug activity is subject to harsher criminal penalties if it takes place within 1,500 feet of a school, housing project or day-care center. Critics say such laws unfairly discriminate against residents of cities and densely populated suburbs.
Such steps, though small in scale, represent a new focus in the drug war. Calls for tougher penalties have traditionally dominated the conversation while the case for less restrictive laws was rooted in libertarian philosophy or concerns about racial bias.
"In the past, it was more of a racial justice issue," said LaResse Harvey, policy director for the Hartford-based A Better Way Foundation, which advocates treatment instead of incarceration for drug offenders. "This year, it's a fiscal issue."
"The economic crisis is a real opportunity for drug reform," added Clifford Thornton, president of Efficacy, a nonprofit group dedicated to solving social problems. "The costs are astronomical."
Calculating those costs can be difficult. According to a report produced in August by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research, there were about 10,000 prosecutions in 2007 for possession of controlled substances, including less than 4 ounces of marijuana. About 35 percent of the cases resulted in convictions. First-time offenders face up to a year in prison, as much as a $1,000 fine or both; subsequent offenses can result in up to five years in prison, a fine of as much as $3,000 or both.
But critics say there's more at stake than money. "We're starting down a slippery slope," said Anthony Salvatore, police chief in Cromwell and legislative liaison for the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. "If they're looking to legalize marijuana, they should come out with that … and we can have a debate about that."
Twenty-two states have passed some form of marijuana decriminalization. Among the most recent is Massachusetts, where instead of criminal penalties, offenders are assessed a civil fine of $100.
"We've been trying to deal with drug abuse for 30 years now by using our prison system, and it does not seem to be very effective when it comes to low-level drug use," said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D- East Haven, chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee.
In fact, Connecticut legislators have taken a number of steps through the years to find more appropriate ways to punish small-scale pot offenders, Lawlor said. The reality, he said, is that few people charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana wind up in prison. Many are sent to community court, where they are required to perform public service and submit to regular drug tests.
"We have drug court, we have diversionary programs, we have community court," Lawlor said. "For at least 10 years in Connecticut ... most thoughtful legislators in both parties have understood it's important to shift the focus for nonviolent crimes from prison to accountability, plus rehabilitation."
But even community court costs money. Then there's the cost of investigating all those low-level marijuana cases. "We still have to pay the cop to write that report. We still have to pay to adjudicate the case," said Lorenzo Jones, executive director of A Better Way. "I would rather see local law enforcement spend their resources on unsolved crimes or crimes against persons."
Anything that eases the pressures on an already burdened court system is a plus, Harp said. Police, prosecutors, public defenders and probation officers ought to spend their time focusing on violent criminals and drug dealers, she said.
Harp said she hopes the issue will gain support at the legislature, although it likely will face a hurdle with Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who two years ago vetoed a medical marijuana bill.
"We've looked at this issue many different ways over the years," Harp said. "By and large, most people agree that these low-level marijuana users are not criminals who are selling it. ... My feeling as appropriations chair is that we just can't afford [criminal penalties] anymore."
Efficacy is sponsoring a forum on drug policy Feb. 4 at Central Connecticut State University. Speakers include state legislators, academics and activists.
TheStranger.com, WA
Marijuana Decriminalization Struggles in the Legislature
by Dominic Holden
Twelve Democrats are cosponsoring a bill in the state house that would reduce the penalty for possessing up to 40 grams of marijuana to a civil infraction, subject to a $100 fine. It would only decriminalize marijuana possession, not legalize it. Introduced on January 14, this is the first legislative attempt to reform Washington's marijuana laws in decades. Under current state law, possessing even one joint is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.
But does it stand a chance?
This seems an unlikely year for the legislature to embrace any civil-liberty-lovin' proposals, considering the top item on their agenda: bridging the state's $6 billion budget gap. However, the financial crisis may, paradoxically, prove a windfall. According to data from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, the state would save $7.5 million a year by passing the law—a figure that's based on the 11,553 pot-possession arrests in Washington in 2007.
"I think any chances of passing will hinge on the opportunity to achieve budget savings and whether this proposal is less unpopular than other proposals for cost savings," says the bill's prime sponsor, Representative Dave Upthegrove (D-33). "Is it more controversial than closing parks?"
Upthegrove also hopes that, as a suburban representative, he gives the bill "a little political cover."
But the bill has already hit a roadblock. Representative Christopher Hurst (D-31), a former narcotics officer and ex-cop who chairs the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, refuses to give the bill a hearing. "I am concerned that [the bill] is in direct conflict with federal law," which makes possessing any quantity of marijuana a crime, he says. "If we tell citizens of Washington that marijuana is no longer a crime, and they cross the border and get arrested... or if they go out on their boat [and are arrested by the Coast Guard], they are not going to be happy with us."
However, it's unclear whether the federal government would bother prosecuting people for such a minor crime. Even federal law-enforcement officers can treat possession of up to an ounce of marijuana as an infraction, rather than arresting and jailing an offender. And Representative Roger Goodman (D-45), an attorney and former head of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project, says, "Federal law clearly allows the states to prescribe their own penalties, whether civil or criminal."
"Thirteen other states have already [decriminalized marijuana]"—including Massachusetts, where a measure similar to the one in the Washington State legislature passed a public vote in November by a 30-point margin—"and we haven't seen any of those other states struggle with [the] problem" of federal prosecution, says Alison Holcomb, director of the ACLU of Washington's Drug Policy Project. California has made possession of marijuana a civil infraction, and, like Washington, it also sits on an international border and has a coastline patrolled by federal agents.
Hurst says that if a companion bill passes in the state senate and comes to his committee, he will give it a hearing.
State senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) says she'll introduce companion legislation within a week. But the bill faces an uphill battle in the senate, where it will have to get out of the judiciary committee. Three of the committee's eight members are Republicans and another member is conservative Democrat James Hargrove (D-24).
Meanwhile, no Republicans have cosponsored the current bill, making it a lefty long shot that could take years to pass, cosponsor Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia) acknowledges. Cal Anderson, Washington's first gay legislator, "used to be a voice in the wilderness on gay civil-rights issues," he says. "You just keep plugging away and people start thinking in terms of the change."
Decriminalization law proposed for small amounts of pot in Vermont
By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: February 4, 2009
MONTPELIER – At least 20 House lawmakers have attached their names to legislation that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The bill, introduced by Rep. David Zuckerman, would treat possession of an ounce or less of pot as a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Zuckerman, a Burlington Progressive, said Tuesday that the time has come for Vermont to replace criminal marijuana statutes that are heavy handed and out of touch.
"This is about policy falling in line with common culture and removing the criminal label from something commonly used as a recreational drug," Zuckerman said Tuesday.
The issue earned widespread attention in the Statehouse last year when Senate lawmakers considered a similar proposal. Though a public hearing, attended by about 100 people, and extensive committee testimony revealed popular support for the measure, the bill never passed through the General Assembly.
Prospects don't look any brighter this year. House Speaker Shap Smith indicated Tuesday that his body will be focusing on the state's immediate economic crisis – likely to the exclusion of marijuana decriminalization.
Rep. William Lippert, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his committee is too overwhelmed with a huge anti sex-crimes bill to dedicate any time right now to the issue.
"I see no likelihood we will be taking up anything other than S.13 between now and Town Meeting Day," Lippert said. "What happens after then I don't even know."
Still, decriminalization proponents said Vermont would be well served to at least consider the debate. Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand, among the more respected advocates of marijuana decriminalization, said too much police work is focused on too benign a crime.
"I think how we respond to marijuana creates more public harm than the use of the substance itself, and to me that suggests we should find a way to change our response," Sand said Tuesday.
People caught with an ounce or less of marijuana aren't languishing in jail cells, Sand said. But police are expending valuable public safety resources on arrests and related paperwork.
"It frees police up so they're not spending hours processing a low-end, small-quantity marijuana case, and that to me is a reasonable incremental step in adjusting how we respond to marijuana use," Sand said.
The decriminalization issue now has its own nonprofit advocacy organization. The Vermont Alliance for Intelligent Drug Laws, a one-woman shop in Montpelier, promises to galvanize grassroots support around Zuckerman's bill.
"We should not be making criminals out of people who choose to use a substance that remains illegal for reasons that are unreasonable and make no sense," said Nancy Lynch, head of VALID.
Lynch pointed to a Jan. 9 Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Vermont voters. The poll, commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., (also a key financial backer of VALID) found that 63 percent of residents supported a $100 civil fine, with no possibility of jail time, for people caught with an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use.
Lynch said 12 other states have passed decriminalized small-quantity possession, the most recent being Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would decriminalize marijuana there as well.
The proposal faces stiff opposition from Vermont's law enforcement community, which testified last year against the bill. Gov. James Douglas also has voiced concerns over the measure.
Zuckerman said the budget crisis notwithstanding, legislators ought to be able to balance a range of bills in a single session. Rep. David Deen, a Putney Democrat and co-sponsor of the decriminalization bill, said it's unfair to dismiss the legislation as a "boutique" issue.
"(The Statehouse) is a place to explore ideas and calling something names is thwarting democracy," Deen said. "If you're 18 years old and you get popped for two joints and end up with a criminal record, this bill is not a boutique issue."
State Budget Deficit May Aid Marijuana Reform Effort
By DANIELA ALTIMARI | The Hartford Courant
January 26, 2009
Two prominent lawmakers pushing for reform of the state's marijuana laws have a potent new ally: the budget deficit.
Sen. Toni Harp, chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee, and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney hope economics will succeed where other arguments have failed in convincing their colleagues that the costs of prosecuting and punishing pot smokers is an expense Connecticut can no longer afford.
"We've got to take a strong look at what we want to pay for as a state," said Harp, D- New Haven, who with Looney is co-sponsoring a bill that would punish low-level marijuana users with a fine, not a criminal charge.
"To waste our resources on this small problem is not a good use of the people's money."
No one is proposing that marijuana be legalized, but Harp and Looney want to see possession of small amounts — 1 ounce or less — decriminalized, just as it was in Massachusetts in November. If the bill is approved, offenders would be given tickets and assessed fines instead of facing criminal penalties. Getting caught with a joint would be akin to getting nabbed for speeding.
"The experience in Massachusetts is indicative that the public may be ahead of elected officials in this one," said Looney, D-New Haven.
A Harvard study found that Massachusetts police spend about $30 million a year on arresting and investigating low-level marijuana users.
Connecticut legislators also will consider a measure that would reduce the size of drug-free school zones. Under state law, any drug activity is subject to harsher criminal penalties if it takes place within 1,500 feet of a school, housing project or day-care center. Critics say such laws unfairly discriminate against residents of cities and densely populated suburbs.
Such steps, though small in scale, represent a new focus in the drug war. Calls for tougher penalties have traditionally dominated the conversation while the case for less restrictive laws was rooted in libertarian philosophy or concerns about racial bias.
"In the past, it was more of a racial justice issue," said LaResse Harvey, policy director for the Hartford-based A Better Way Foundation, which advocates treatment instead of incarceration for drug offenders. "This year, it's a fiscal issue."
"The economic crisis is a real opportunity for drug reform," added Clifford Thornton, president of Efficacy, a nonprofit group dedicated to solving social problems. "The costs are astronomical."
Calculating those costs can be difficult. According to a report produced in August by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research, there were about 10,000 prosecutions in 2007 for possession of controlled substances, including less than 4 ounces of marijuana. About 35 percent of the cases resulted in convictions. First-time offenders face up to a year in prison, as much as a $1,000 fine or both; subsequent offenses can result in up to five years in prison, a fine of as much as $3,000 or both.
But critics say there's more at stake than money. "We're starting down a slippery slope," said Anthony Salvatore, police chief in Cromwell and legislative liaison for the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. "If they're looking to legalize marijuana, they should come out with that … and we can have a debate about that."
Twenty-two states have passed some form of marijuana decriminalization. Among the most recent is Massachusetts, where instead of criminal penalties, offenders are assessed a civil fine of $100.
"We've been trying to deal with drug abuse for 30 years now by using our prison system, and it does not seem to be very effective when it comes to low-level drug use," said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D- East Haven, chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee.
In fact, Connecticut legislators have taken a number of steps through the years to find more appropriate ways to punish small-scale pot offenders, Lawlor said. The reality, he said, is that few people charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana wind up in prison. Many are sent to community court, where they are required to perform public service and submit to regular drug tests.
"We have drug court, we have diversionary programs, we have community court," Lawlor said. "For at least 10 years in Connecticut ... most thoughtful legislators in both parties have understood it's important to shift the focus for nonviolent crimes from prison to accountability, plus rehabilitation."
But even community court costs money. Then there's the cost of investigating all those low-level marijuana cases. "We still have to pay the cop to write that report. We still have to pay to adjudicate the case," said Lorenzo Jones, executive director of A Better Way. "I would rather see local law enforcement spend their resources on unsolved crimes or crimes against persons."
Anything that eases the pressures on an already burdened court system is a plus, Harp said. Police, prosecutors, public defenders and probation officers ought to spend their time focusing on violent criminals and drug dealers, she said.
Harp said she hopes the issue will gain support at the legislature, although it likely will face a hurdle with Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who two years ago vetoed a medical marijuana bill.
"We've looked at this issue many different ways over the years," Harp said. "By and large, most people agree that these low-level marijuana users are not criminals who are selling it. ... My feeling as appropriations chair is that we just can't afford [criminal penalties] anymore."
Efficacy is sponsoring a forum on drug policy Feb. 4 at Central Connecticut State University. Speakers include state legislators, academics and activists.