Posted on 01/29/2003 6:47:00 AM PST by The FRugitive
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Voters in this college town will go to the polls in April to decide a ballot measure that would legalize medical marijuana and greatly reduce penalties for possession of small quantities of the drug.
Under Proposition 1, doctor-prescribed marijuana use would be legal in Columbia and other possession cases involving 35 grams or less of pot would be handled in city, rather than state, court. Offenders could be punished with misdemeanor-level fines starting at $25, but no jail time.
The ballot issue represents a new approach to the old battle to decriminalize pot, said Keith Stroup, executive director of the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
"This is the first example I've seen where they're joined medical marijuana with arguments about penalizing college students," Stroup said Friday. "It's a very smart idea to combine these and let the people vote on not scarring any of these folks with arrest records."
Supporters of the proposal hope to propel it into the law books on April 8 by simultaneously appealing to the seriously ill, senior citizens, college students and baby boomers who sneak joints on weekends.
"This isn't just about potheads," says University of Missouri law student Anthony Lee Johnson, the proposal's author.
Johnson and his allies gathered the required 1,191 signatures of registered voters to get the proposal before the Columbia City Council. The council last week decided to place the proposal on the ballot.
Medical use of marijuana is legal in nine states, but not Missouri.
Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm strongly opposes the change, insisting that law enforcement needs to keep its discretion about whether to prosecute marijuana cases in city or state courts.
"For example, if it's not a first offense, that should be dealt with in state court," he said. "What if there are additional charges from the same incident? That should be handled by one state prosecutor."
He noted that Proposition 1 imposes a maximum $500 fine for the fourth and subsequent offenses, but no risk of going to jail.
"We try to send the message that substance abuse is not a good thing and this undermines that," Boehm said.
Boehm and other critics also say local governments cannot enact laws that are less stringent than state law.
Yeah, like you really care about medical marijuana.
Do you know what this is really about, and why college students are so interested? If they are convicted for possession, they lose their financial aid, that's why. It has nothing to do with compassion for anyone except their selfish little selves.
When I see such proposals, one thing always sticks out and I have to ask: Where in the heck do they come up with these amounts? 35 grams is like an Oz and a 1/4.
These propositions are a good sign that people are rejcting the government's propaganda, but the notion still remains that a government can decide your fate based upon possession of certain amount of a plant. I reject the entire notion that governemnt of any level can determine what an individual ingests.
Grow up people.
"GIVE ME LIBER...err...LICENSE OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!"
That and they can carry such "gnarley" signs such as, "Smoke weed not Iraqi's" on their anti-war pro-pot demonstrations.
The powers that be at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, have established a scholarship fund through the school to reimburse students that loose their federal handouts due to simple pot possession.
I think we should stop all federal grants to university. Let the snot noses pay their own way, like I did.
Bingo!
Now that's what I call a "pipe" dream.
The people are not the issue, the ideas are.
Removing the federal government from involvement in education is a very good idea.
IOW, Ignore the truth behind the curtain that the vast majority of pro-potters are anti-war.
Even if that were true, what's the point you are trying to make? And what does it have to do with the law being proposed?
Just the point that pot validation is a major tenet of the American radical left.
But bashing people is fun, TJ!!
Kill those Soros-funded, hippie, minority-loving scumbags. See, wasn't that fun?/sarcasm
I'm not sure what you're refering to here. Medical marijuana initiatives have passed in several states.
I couldn't agree more.
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