Sensible Fayetteville Collects 900 More Signatures

[PFlynn]

Sensible Fayetteville will submit its second round of signatures today in hopes of giving local voters the choice on election day to make adult marijuana possession the lowest priority for police.

"We needed about 300 additional signatures, and so far, we've collected upwards of 900,"Ryan Denham, campaign director, said."We've almost tripled what we needed, and we're still going. We'll turn them in at the end of [today ]."

Sensible Fayetteville is a local coalition made up of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology, the Green Party of Washington County, the University of Arkansas student branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas Inc.

Initiative sponsors turned in a total of 5, 522 signatures Aug. 6. On Aug. 19, City Clerk Sondra Smith and staff verified 3, 385 valid signatures. Based on the number of votes cast in the city's last mayoral election, a total of 3, 686 signatures are required to qualify the petition.

"We compared the signatures on the petition to a list of registered voters,"Smith said."Several people that signed the petition didn't live in the city limits of Fayetteville, and since this is a city issue, they have to reside in the city. Some people also signed more than once."

In a last-minute effort to gather the remaining signatures, Denham and fellow coalition members launched various public campaigns in the Fayetteville Square and at Wilson Park. Additionally, all registered voters who signed the petition dur ing the campaign will be entered in a drawing. The winner will receive a Water Buddy Travel Filter. This product retails for $ 59. 95.

"We've been working on this since last November,"Denham said."We've been at the post office, the [University of Arkansas ] and we've been going door-todoor. This is a local campaign, but it's a national issue and we hope people understand that."

If approved, the amendment would be similar to the one approved in Eureka Springs and would make"investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana and marijuana parapher nalia offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the city of Fayetteville's lowest law enforcement and prosecutorial priority."

Denham said the focus is on adults who would fall under misdemeanor offenses, which is possession of 1 ounce or less. He said enforcement of the law, as written, only serves to increase law enforcement expenditures and overcrowd jails.

Similar laws have been passed by communities in Missouri, Montana, Washington, California and Colorado.

"A number of cities are starting to recognize what a waste the current policy is,"he said."Marijuana arrests are clogging the system and wasting our resources. We'd rather not have an adult arrested for possessing 1 ounce of marijuana. We'd rather see them cited."

In addition to making marijuana possession the lowest priority for police, the measure requires the city clerk to submit letters to state and federal legislators, the governor and the president stating"The citizens of Fayetteville have passed an initiative to deprioritize adult marijuana offenses where the marijuana is intended for personal use and request that the federal and Arkansas state governments take immediate steps to enact similar laws."The letter would be submitted annually until state and federal laws are changed accordingly.

"This affects everyone in the United States,"Denham said."We've had a record number of marijuana arrests. This year alone, about 829, 000 people were arrested on marijuana charges."

Smith said she doesn't know how long it will take to determine the final sum of petition signatures.

"It depends on how legible the signatures are,"she said."Last time, we had a lot that weren't legible. I had three people working on it for almost 10 days. It was very time consuming. We hope to have them counted up in about three days. Then we have to compare them to the signatures we've already received to make sure there are no duplications and make sure they're registered."

In Arkansas, Denham said, citizens have the right to petition local, county and state government for changes in law.

Residents have until today to sign the petition by visiting Ozark Glassworks on Huntsville Road or Sidney's Emporium on Dickson Street.



News Hawk: PFlynn - http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Northwest Arkansas Times (Fayetteville, AR)
Copyright: 2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Contact: NWAnews.com :: Letter to the Editor
Website: NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source

[hood1]

Good move wish them luck!! Make it legal why even issue a ticket? Go to some rednecks yard at a BBQ and try to give them a ticket for drinking a beer!!