Pubdate: Thu, 04 Oct 2012
Source: Journal and Courier (IN)
Copyright: 2012 Federated Publications, Inc
Contact: http://www.jconline.com/services/forms/letter_to_editor.shtml
Website: http://www.jconline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1691
Author: Sophia Voravong

BILL PUTS MARIJUANA PENALTIES ISSUE BACK BEFORE LEGISLATORS

It's not uncommon for state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, to field 
phone calls and emails from worried parents and grandparents whose 
children or grandchildren were arrested for possessing marijuana.

Their concerns are almost always in the same vein:

" 'Senator, my kid made a bad choice. ... He's going to get a felony 
out of this. It's going to ruin his life forever' for, relatively 
speaking, a small amount of marijuana," Alting recalled Tuesday.

" 'It's going to limit him. ... It's a black eye when he's looking 
for a job. It's a felony that won't go away.' "

The issue - whether any portion of Indiana's marijuana possession 
laws should be decriminalized - could be one that Alting, who sits on 
the Senate's Judiciary Committee, will hear during the General 
Assembly's next session.

Though legislators don't meet until January, one of them, Sen. Brent 
Steele, R-Bedford, has already announced plans to sponsor a bill that 
would reduce penalties for people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

More specifically, Steele, chairman of the Senate committee on 
corrections, criminal and civil matters, wants to make possession of 
10 grams or less of marijuana an infraction - similar to a traffic 
violation-instead of a misdemeanor, he told the Indianapolis Business 
Journal last month.

Steele's proposal is not new, but rather a continuation of sorts from 
2011, when a northwest Indiana lawmaker pushed for a committee to 
study the issue. A bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana 
got a hearing before the Senate, but it was not brought to a vote.

"I think what it comes down to, what the question is, is 'What's the 
penaltyUKP' Does the penalty fit the crime?" Alting said.

Currently, the punishment for possession of marijuana begins as a 
Class A misdemeanor, and offenders face up to one year incarceration 
- - though prison time for any misdemeanor is rare. That applies for 
first-time offenders caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana.

Having a prior conviction for possession of marijuana ups the offense 
to a Class D felony, the lowest-level felony in Indiana. Offenders 
face six months to three years incarceration.

(Worth noting: Tippecanoe County judges sent 101 people convicted of 
Class D felonies to prison in 2010, which can include theft, 
possession of marijuana and child neglect offenses.)

In Tippecanoe County, from 2009 to 2011, roughly 75 percent of 
possession of marijuana charges filed by the prosecutor's office were 
misdemeanors, according to data provided by Clerk Christa Coffey.

Through the end of September this year, 453 possession of marijuana 
charges have been filed, with Class D felonies accounting for 23 
percent thus far.

Thirty grams of marijuana is slightly more than an ounce, roughly 
enough to make 30 to 60 marijuana cigarettes.

Possessing more than 30 grams of marijuana is considered beyond 
personal use under current Indiana law, and the offense becomes 
dealing in marijuana.

The West Lafayette Police Department relies on that distinction when 
deciding whether someone caught with pot will be hauled to the 
Tippecanoe County Jail or given a citation and a court date, Capt. 
Gary Sparger said.

A citation is still considered a criminal arrest.

Some officers can readily eyeball 30 grams or less of marijuana, 
Sparger said, though they also rely on electronic scales to weigh it.

"Under 30 grams means no evidence of dealing and is considered 
personal use," he said. "We don't take them to jail because the jail 
is full enough as is. There's not enough room to jail all nonviolent 
offenders."

Alting said he's willing to discuss decriminalizing small amounts of 
marijuana. However, he's against legalizing it altogether.

"My personal opinion is that, if we legalize it, it would make our 
young people want to go on and try something harder," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom