Posted on 05/20/2006 10:50:46 AM PDT by Wolfie
Activists Pushing To Relax Marijuana Enforcement
Oregon -- A marijuana advocacy group wants Portland police to get their priorities straight. Introduced by the Citizens for a Safer Portland in early February, a new citywide initiative is aimed at reducing adult marijuana-related offenses to be the “lowest law-enforcement priority.”
Chris Iverson, chief petitioner of the initiative and campaign manager for CSP, is confident Portland voters will approve the measure if it gets on the ballot.
About 56 percent of city voters endorsed the failed statewide medical marijuana expansion initiative two years ago, which he said was “under-funded and not well-organized.”
“Because of the high yes vote in Portland with Measure 33 in 2004, we feel that we have a good chance to win,” said Iverson.
Past low-priority proposals like Seattle’s Initiative 75, passed in 2003, and Oakland, Calif.’s Proposition Z, passed in 2004, seem to have spawned greater support for drug law reform. Other similar measures may be headed to the November ballot in several California cities as well as Missoula, Mont.
The Portland initiative defines marijuana-related offenses as any “in which possession, delivery or manufacture of marijuana is an element.” It declares that “law enforcement activities related to all offenses other than marijuana-related offenses shall be a higher priority than all law enforcement activities related to marijuana-related offenses.”
Sales, cultivation, distribution, and possession of pot by minors or adults on public property and use in connection with the operation of a vehicle aren’t covered by the initiative directive.
Supporters say the initiative is a good first step toward focusing law enforcement more on real threats to the community, like crimes against people and property.
Portland police officials reported 799 adult arrests last year for marijuana-related offenses. According to one study, the average cost of sending an offender through Multnomah County Drug Court is about $6,000, meaning that taxpayers spent about $4.8 million to prosecute adult pot possession offenses in 2005.
The initiative also contains restrictions on the Portland police department’s relationship with federal and state authorities as well, stating that local officials “shall not accept formal deputization or commissioning by a federal law enforcement agency to the extent that such deputization or commissioning will include investigating, citing, arresting, or seizing property from adults for marijuana- related offenses.”
Some supporters of the measure say this part of the initiative is important to keep local officials from joining with federal agents to bust medical marijuana collectives.
“This really strikes at the heart of the issue with regard to local law enforcement cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Administration against medical cannabis dispensaries,” said Nikos Leverenz, acting director of the California office of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Cutting off funds that contribute to law enforcement activities for marijuana-related offenses is a unique part of the Portland initiative; of the six proposals introduced this year and the two past successful ones, only the Portland and Missoula initiatives specify that city officials cannot “accept any funds from any source, organization or individual, including federal funds or state funds.” The present California initiatives only prohibit federal funds.
Of course, marijuana possession of any amount and for any purpose remains a federal crime. And advocates for the measures don’t expect the DEA to be particularly mellow about any effort seen as undermining the drug war. They anticipate a federally-backed “smear campaign” against the Portland initiative if it makes it to the ballot.
On May 6 CSP representatives attended the Million Marijuana March, hosted by Oregon NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), to gather signatures and raise support for the initiative with the 300 or so marchers in attendance.
However, signature-gathering for the measure has been a little lethargic thus far. With the signatures due on July 7, the CSP is only about half-way to the 26,691 they need to make the Nov. 7 ballot, according to the CSP website - http://www.makeportlandsafer.org
The group also claims it is short on campaign funds. Even after a grant from the Marijuana Policy Project for $120,000, local organizers say they need an additional $20,000 for advertising and campaigning.
Despite these hurdles, Iverson is optimistic that with more people out gathering signatures and more public events planned they will raise the support needed to move the initiative forward.
And if someone got your child hooked, that would be okay with you? Sorry if they got my child hooked, I would hunt them to the ends of earth, not man or government would stop me, until I saw tneir rotting corpse!!! Violating someone else is rights, for a free and hopeful life is okay, just not yours. For drugs destroy hope, just as sure as hunger destroys life.
"I see what drug abuse does to individuals and families everyday in my job. "Victimless?" I don't think so."
Have you ever considered that what you are seeing is
what the WOD does to individuals and families?
I wrote nothing about drug abuse nor use for that matter.
It is possession of an herb which I wrote about. Who is the
victim if one citizen chooses on his or her own time to stop
and enjoy the scent of a flower gifted from the garden of God?
Who is the victim if the guy smelling the flower in his home
has a bong in the other hand when the DEAmen knock down
his door and blow him to kingdom come thinking it is a gun?
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?" --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia, 1782.
"Victim," is a state which reguires the subject to have had actions
taken upon them by an other which had unexpected adverse effects.
In the case of the user the effects are expected and self induced, therefore there is no victim. The continuation of a perpetual war upon
our own citizenry is, in addition to being unconstitutional, a victim making machine.
Good. We don't need to waste valuable law enforcement resources busting people who use marijauna. A non crime if there ever was one.
Ever walk into a household with four small children running around while mom is comatose in the bedroom from doing meth?
Actually, I think Fox threatened us with decrim in order to get something on the immigration side.
Meth is a creation of the WOD. Had herb remained legal your question would never have been asked. Moreover, I come from a family of eight kids and
often my mother was near comatose from shear exhaustion as all of us
ran around unattended. But, then would you have had the nanny state
split us up and raised by seperate groups of homosexual foster parents?
You would probably have locked her up too. Then when some of us got old
enough to leave foster care we would have come gunning for you. I hope
you enjoy your job, while you can.
Same here. In my opinion allowing cheap access to herion would be the garanteed death of many addicts, if not in body certainly in mind. We would also have the problem of them loafing about on the streets begging or breaking into homes to get the money for their drug, no matter how cheap. The only way I could see it happening (not that it ever will), would be to corral them into centers and segregate them from society. Give them mindless tasks to accomplish and instant access to treatment if they desire. Hardly a libertarian solution unless you could convince private organizations to take care of them, but the alternative of letting them run loose is worse...besides the fact they would get pushed into "open air" centers of the worst neighborhoods by the populace anyways. That happens in my city now. Any heroin addict or worse dealer that tries to move onto this side of town gets beat out of the neighborhood...literally. The crack dealers have no patience or mercy for them...personally I like it that way. They a better job than the police ever could.
Good for them! Get the state out of our private lives!
Some drugs are used as needed, but turning the drugs such as meth, on the rest of the people has been destructive. If you use the Bible use all the Bible, drugs are called pharmi, as used in the bible it is sorcery, look it up without hesitation, it may save someone's life one day. Pray that people will not use drugs as a recreation, for if they do, it is a form of death. Those that sell death for a profit should reap, what they sell.
Almost two-thirds of murder cases result in an arrest ... what percentage of instances of drug use do you think result in an arrest? Laws against victimless acts are not only immoral but impractical.
Self-'victimization' is not the proper business of gevernment. And it's clearly immoral to prevent unmarried, childless persons from using a drug (including alcohol) because married parents might use drugs to a rights-violating degree.
Should adults not be free to make their own mistakes? Should we ban alcohol, junk food, and skydiving because they sometimes lead to self-harm?
Nonsense ... how often do you hear about winos breaking into homes to get the money for their cheap addictive drug?
(YAWN)
Aspirin is sorcery?
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