Pubdate: Wed, 26 Feb 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Authors: Michael Dresser and Erin Cox
Page: 6

LAW ENFORCEMENT OPPOSES MARIJUANA BILLS

Police, Sheriffs, Prosecutors Against Legalization of Pot

Prosecutors, police chiefs and sheriffs gathered Tuesday in Annapolis
to push back against the growing movement to decriminalize possession
of small amounts of marijuana or to legalize recreational use of the
drug altogether.

At a news conference and at a Senate hearing, law enforcement leaders
warned that loosening marijuana laws would undermine drug enforcement
across the board. They said it would be premature to pass a bill
following in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington state, which
recently legalized pot, and opposed a separate measure that would
treat possession as a minor civil offense.

"This legislation sends a horrible message," said Riverdale Park
Police Chief David Morris, speaking for the Maryland Chiefs of Police
Association.

Harford County State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly, speaking on behalf
of the Maryland State's Attorneys Association, called the movement to
legalize pot in Maryland "a rush to judgment."

Cassilly said the state should wait for legalization in Colorado and
Washington to be thoroughly studied, instead of relying on "anecdotal
evidence from a bunch of pot heads."

The otherwise solid show of support for the state's existing marijuana
laws was cracked by the testimony of Neill Franklin, a retired
Baltimore police major who has emerged as a vocal opponent of the war
on drugs in general and the prohibition of marijuana in particular.

"It didn't work back in the 1920s with alcohol prohibition," he said.
"We should have learned from history."

Franklin argued the effect of prohibiting marijuana has been to leave
its regulation in the hands of drug cartels and street gangs.

Most of the active law enforcement officers who attended took a hard
line against legalizing marijuana for recreational use, though they
were clear that their opposition did not extend to proposals making
medical marijuana more readily available to those who need it.

"Those lines should not be blurred," said Anne Arundel County Police
Chief Kevin Davis, speaking at a morning news conference.

Some of the officers ran into trouble in the less-forgiving venue of
the Senate hearing, where the sponsors of the legalization and
decriminalization bills repeatedly sought proof of police assertions
that law enforcement and public health would be hampered by their bills.

Annapolis Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop asserted that 37 people had
died of marijuana overdoses on the first day of legalization in
Colorado last month.

The claim drew groans from the packed hearing room. Sen. Jamie Raskin,
a Montgomery County Democrat who sponsored the legalization bill,
pointed out that Pristoop had fallen for a hoax that ran in the
satirical publication the Daily Currant. Pristoop later issued an
apology. "I believed the information I obtained was accurate but I now
know the story is nothing more than an urban legend," he said in a
statement.

Police warnings of the danger of marijuana overdoses aroused
skepticism among senators of both parties.

"The only people I've seen overdose on marijuana had a big snack and
fell asleep," said Sen. Nancy Jacobs, a Harford County Republican.

Morris also took some heat from senators over his assertion that
decriminalizing marijuana would lead to an increase in drug use.

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat and author of the
decriminalization bill, said he had "looked high and low" for evidence
from 16 states that now treat marijuana possession as a civil offense.
He said he found no evidence suggesting that usage had increased. When
Zirkin pressed Morris to back up his assertion with studies, the chief
could not.
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