Pubdate: Sat, 05 Nov 2005 Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) Copyright: 2005 Columbia Daily Tribune Contact: http://www.columbiatribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/91 Author: Alan Scher Zagier, of The Associated Press Cited: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( www.norml.org ) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) BOTH SIDES NEAR DEAL ON POT LAW Compromise Aims to Avoid Election One year after voters handily approved an ordinance that sharply reduces the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana, Columbia police officers and Boone County prosecutors have joined the measure's chief backer to quietly push a compromise. The former opponents are saying little about their negotiations, which began earlier this year after Columbia police started a petition drive to overturn the new law. But the original supporters say the revised ordinance - which will likely require Columbia City Council approval - is designed to prevent repeat offenders and those charged with committing other crimes while holding pot from taking advantage of the more lenient sentencing guidelines. The new law, which was approved by nearly 62 percent of voters in November 2004, requires police to treat those possessing as much as 35 grams, or 1 ounces, of marijuana as low-level misdemeanor offenders subject to municipal court fines of no more than $250 - a punishment essentially equivalent to receiving a speeding ticket. Should the offender stay out of legal trouble for another year, the conviction would be dropped. A related measure that allows seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana within the city limits was approved last year by nearly 70 percent of Columbia voters. On Tuesday, voters in Denver approved an even more lenient pot possession law that allows residents older than 21 to possess as much as 1 ounce of the drug. The change might be little more than symbolic, though; authorities in the Mile High City said they plan to instead enforce more stringent state laws. University of Missouri-Columbia junior Bailey Hirschburg, a leader of the campus marijuana reform group, said the compromise is far better than the alternative of a ballot initiative generated by the measure's opponents. "One of the things we had on our side last year was the" high "turnout," said Hirschburg, a Cape Girardeau native and local chapter president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML. The status of the police-driven petition drive is uncertain. Sterling Infield, president of the Columbia Police Officers Association, declined to comment, citing a mutual agreement with Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane and local civil liberties attorney Dan Viets. The police organization would need 2,275 signatures to put a repeal measure on the ballot. Hirschburg said supporters fear the results might be different in a nonpresidential election, particularly if it were held in the summer when many students leave Columbia. That was the case in April 2003, when Columbia voters rejected a similar pot measure. Crane, who represented police in negotiations with Viets, also declined to discuss the new proposal. Viets, though, said the compromise effort is driven by a desire to avoid another election on the merits of marijuana. "Both sides would prefer not to have to go back to the ballot," he said. Should elected leaders approve the modified proposal, Viets said he doesn't anticipate further efforts by either side to tighten or weaken the city's pot laws. "There is an element of trust that has to be involved in any negotiations," he said. "If we have an agreement, we anticipate both sides will abide by it." Mayor Darwin Hindman said he anticipates the measure will win approval by the city's elected leaders, given the advance work done by former foes Crane and Viets. "That gives it pretty strong credentials," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake