Pot Initiatives on Their Way To City Ballot

[SmokeDog420]

Two initiatives to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana will likely appear before Columbia voters on Nov. 2. It’s unlikely the Columbia City Council will approve the measures in August, acknowledges one of the petition’s organizers, Dan Viets.
That means voters would have to decide. "A few years ago, we had a city council that would have passed these ordinances," he said.

When the matter came before council last year, only then-councilman John Coffman voted yes. "It’s easier for any politician to pass the buck to the voters in this type of situation than to risk taking a controversial position," Viets said.

A third initiative petition, which would increase the city’s purchase of green energy through 2022, has fallen short by 138 signatures. But petitioners still have 10 days to collect additional signatures to be placed on the Nov. 2 ballot, said Sheela Amin, the Columbia’s city clerk. Petitioners are collecting additional signatures to shore up the gap.

Supporters of all three initiatives had to collect 2,276 valid signatures each of registered Columbia voters. The first pot initiative, which would allow patients to possess misdemeanor amounts of marijuana with a physicians’ permission, received 412 extra signatures. Receiving 121 extra signatures was the second initiative, which directs misdemeanor marijuana arrests be handled only in municipal court, with a fine of up to $250 and educational classes but no state court record. In both cases, only adults would be affected by the ordinances.

The initiatives will be placed before the city council on Aug. 16. If the council doesn’t adopt them, voters will have their say this fall.

Viets said he would rather have it that way anyway.

"Frankly, I would prefer to see the voters pass this," Viets said. "The voters are the ultimate authority."

On April 8, 2003, voters defeated a similar initiative 10,461 to 7,629.

What makes the issue’s chances any better this time?

"I think they’re better because of the demographics of the election and who’s voting," said Viets, a board member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "Obviously, there will be more people voting this November than who have voted in the last four years. The people who tend to vote in presidential elections are younger and are more sympathetic to our position."

One unknown variable will be whether the marijuana initiatives will draw organized opposition.

Last year, Jefferson City-based Missouri Association of Community Task Forces spent $3,000 to defeat the marijuana initiative. In November, the group was fined $1,000 by the Missouri Ethics Commission on grounds it didn’t properly identify itself in an advertisement and for filing campaign disclosure documents late. The group’s executive director, Peggy Quigg, left the organization after the fine, but she said the fine wasn’t the reason for her departure.

It’s uncertain whether the group will rejoin the fight.

"Right now, MoACT doesn’t have any position" on the marijuana initiatives, said Connie Berhorst, the organization’s director of field services and support. "This is one item of discussion for our group."

She declined to comment further.

As he did last year, Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm is opposing the marijuana initiatives.

One conflict Boehm can see is the city’s ordinance would contradict state laws.

"The FDA hasn’t approved the medical use of marijuana," he said of the medical use initiative. "You’re still buying it off the street. How would a physician know what the dosage is?"

Also, Boehm said, because the ordinance would direct all misdemeanor cases of marijuana to municipal court, it takes officers’ discretion away from them for directing cases to state court. Such cases would include second-time offenders and arrests resulting from search warrants.

But Boehm has a major problem with the message the ordinance would send.

"It takes steps toward legalizing marijuana, which I’m philosophically opposed to," Boehm said. "The message would be in my mind that it’s OK to use marijuana, that the substance is OK. I disagree with that. I’m not suggesting that everyone who uses marijuana goes on to use harsher drugs. But I don’t know of anyone who uses harsher drugs who didn’t start with marijuana



Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
Author: Dave Moore of the Tribune’s Staff
Published: Saturday, July 10, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Columbia Daily Tribune
Contact: editor@tribmail.com
Website: http://www.showmenews.com/