Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2003
Source: Columbia Missourian (MO)
Copyright: 2003 Columbia Missourian
Contact:  http://www.digmo.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2282
Author: Quinn O'Brien and Sana Syed
Note: Missourian reporter Stefanie von Brochowski contributed to this report.
Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy ( www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov )
Cited: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( www.norml.org )

POT PROPOSITION FAILS

Supporters Say They Were Still Successful

Even in defeat, supporters of Proposition 1 felt like they'd made a difference.

Columbia voters on Tuesday turned down a proposal to legalize the medical 
use of marijuana and soften municipal penalties. Final returns showed the 
measure failing, 57.8 percent to 42.2 percent.

"The numbers sound like it's a pretty substantial victory," Columbia Police 
Chief Randy Boehm said late Tuesday night. "I would think this would be the 
end of it for awhile."

Boehm said he would keep in place a policy he firmed up in response to the 
ballot issue, a directive that officers send simple possession cases of 35 
grams or less to Municipal Court.

"We kind of look at it as if we've already partially won," Amy Fritz, 
deputy treasurer of the Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, said 
during a gathering of Proposition 1 supporters at the Colosseum Bistro. "We 
led the police chief to look at his practice," she said, "and that's a 
victory in and of itself."

Proposition 1 was behind from the start. "After the first results came in, 
we knew we were a long shot," said Anthony Johnson, author of the proposed 
ordinance. "We just accepted the fact that we were likely going to lose. 
I'm not going to be inconsolable."

Opponents of marijuana decriminalization breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm delighted, and feel this has been a good experience for us," said Eve 
Pearson, president of the Mid-Missouri Coalition on Adolescent 
Concerns/Community 2000. "It has been a wake-up call for our community. A 
lot of us were educated on how mainstream this drug has become."

The fight over Proposition 1 attracted the attention of the White House. 
Scott Burns, deputy director of state and local affairs for the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy, came to Columbia on Thursday with a message 
from President Bush: The administration does not condone the 'softening' of 
marijuana laws.

On Election Day, Burns faxed a statement on Proposition 1, saying: "The 
federal government will continue to get out the truth regarding marijuana 
and will aggressively support local efforts to educate and inform the 
public about the dangers of marijuana. No community is better off with drugs."

Proponents were not pleased with the national attention. Dan Viets, 
president of the Missouri chapter of the National Organization for the 
Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Johnson questioned the legality of Burns' 
visit, saying that Burns was using taxpayer money to campaign against a 
ballot measure.

"At all levels, we had to fight government and public funding," Viets said.

Opponents also said Burns was spreading misinformation, asserting that 
there was no evidence to support any of his claims that marijuana use would 
increase if the ordinance were to pass.

On election day, Fritz said, she and other members of CAPE went door to 
door to mobilize supporters, remind them to vote, and to offer rides to the 
polls.

Last fall, Johnson drafted the proposed ordinance with the help of Viets, a 
lawyer. Supporters gathered more than enough valid signatures for a 
petition to bring the ordinance to a vote before the City Council. The 
council panned the ordinance on a 6-1 vote, sending the initiative to voters.

The margin of defeat was similar to a measure that went before Columbia 
voters in 1985. That measure did not include medicinal use of marijuana but 
would have reduced fines for possession of 35 grams or less for first-time 
offenders and send all possession cases of 35 grams or less to Municipal 
Court. The 1985 proposal was defeated 57 percent to 43 percent.

Johnson said he was disappointed by Tuesday's results but not discouraged. 
iIt showed that a small group can get their voices heard. "They can stand 
up for what they believe in, and get noticed," he said.

Viets said that while he's not sure of what the next step will be, "we can 
all agree that medicinal marijuana is important." He talked about a bill in 
the Missouri House of Representatives, sponsored by Columbia Rep. Vicky 
Riback Wilson, that would make medicinal marijuana legal in the state of 
Missouri.

"We got a committee hearing because the Republican chair, a doctor, thinks 
this is important," Viets said. "This will be our focus for the time being."

Unlike the united front of law enforcement officials, the medical community 
was somewhat divided on Proposition 1.

Ali Khojasteh, a medical oncologist with practices in Columbia and 
Jefferson City, cited alternatives to marijuana that were already legal. "I 
think that this is a reflection of the people who recognize the fact that 
this type of proposition ultimately is going to be harmful to the young 
people," he said. "People logically can see that there is an alternative to 
marijuana available now, medically."

Clay Anderson, an oncologist at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, supports 
the use of medicinal marijuana and decriminalization to allow studies of 
the drug's medical benefits.

"I'm just glad that we all got a chance to talk about it and learn more 
about it, and cast our ballot," he said. "I think this time, we didn't make 
any substantive step, but we made progress anyway." 
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MAP posted-by: Beth