Pubdate: Sun, 21 Oct 2007
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2007 The Billings Gazette
Contact:  http://www.billingsgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515
Author: Tristan Scott
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

PROSECUTOR ADOPTS POT-IS-LOWEST-PRIORITY POLICY

Missoulian MISSOULA - Nearly a year after voters asked  county law 
enforcement to ignore adult marijuana  offenses, Missoula's top prosecutor 
has adopted an  official policy to uphold the referendum.

"In the interest of compliance with the 2006 voter  initiative on marijuana 
.. we are asking law  enforcement officers to stop arresting individuals 
or  writing and submitting tickets (with mandatory  appearance dates) where 
the offense committed is solely possession of marijuana in misdemeanor 
amounts or  possession of drug paraphernalia intended for use 
of  marijuana," according to a draft of the policy by  Missoula County 
Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, an outspoken opponent of the measure.

Van Valkenburg's policy also instructs deputy  prosecutors to charge 
misdemeanor marijuana cases on a  lowest-priority basis when marijuana is 
the sole  offense

"We will treat them as uncharged cases that will be  assigned to a 
prosecutor and charged on a lowest  priority basis," according to the 
policy. "If charged,  we will seek issuance of a summons with the complaint."

If a defendant is charged but has no criminal record of  consequence, 
county attorneys will offer a deferred  prosecution agreement rather than 
filing formal  charges. No court appearance would be required.

Approved by voters

Dubbed Initiative 2 and approved by 55 percent of  Missoula's electorate in 
last November's election, the  countywide measure asked law enforcement to 
make adult  marijuana possession offenses the lowest priority. It  also 
established a community oversight committee to  investigate marijuana 
arrests and produce a report on  the initiative's effects one year after 
passage.

The committee will annually track and report to  taxpayers how much local 
government time and money is  being spent on adult marijuana offenses as 
compared to  other law enforcement issues.

On Friday morning, a quorum of the nine-member  oversight committee met to 
discuss final details of the  annual report, which will be available to 
members of  the public on Nov. 14.

Lacking data

The committee's chairman, John Masterson, said the  initial report will 
lack some data, and blames the  shortcomings in part on the records-keeping 
processes  at several Missoula County and state agencies.

For example, the report will not conclusively show by  what percentage, if 
any, pot busts have declined since  the measure passed because many 
marijuana charges are  "custodial citations," meaning the discovery 
of  marijuana was incidental to another crime and the person was booked, 
searched and arrested for reasons  other than drug possession.

Statistics where marijuana was the primary arresting  offense have been 
difficult to come by, Masterson said.

"The only statistic that really stands out to me is  that people are still 
getting busted for adult  misdemeanor marijuana offenses," Masterson said.

However, he said Van Valkenburg's policy satisfies the  committee's 
expectations of how county officials should  be handling personal levels of 
marijuana.

"That's substantial compliance," Masterson said.

In March, Missoula County commissioners voted to narrow  the initiative's 
scope and apply it only to  misdemeanor, or personal-use amounts of 
marijuana,  arguing that voters didn't realize the full range of  the 
measure when they supported it.

In making his case for the amendments, Van Valkenburg  emphasized that 
Initiative 2 is a mere suggestion to  county law enforcement, and does not 
change any laws  prohibiting marijuana use.
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