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VOLUSIA SWITCHES TO FINES FOR SMALL AMOUNTS OF MARIJUANA

Volusia on Thursday became the first county in Central Florida to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana.

The County Council by a unanimous 7-0 vote gave law officers the discretion to ticket tokers who possess 20 grams of the drug or less.  Instead of being arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, violators would be fined $100.

"The only thing we learned from the war on drugs is that it didn't work," County Council member Josh Wagner said.  "All it did was fill the jails."

An ounce is 28 grams, enough for 25 to 30 joints, said Allen St.  Pierre, executive director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.  Deputy County Attorney Jamie Seaman compared Volusia's move to fining people $50 for bringing dogs or alcohol to the beach.

Wagner said he read about California decriminalizing marijuana five years ago, and he was encouraged when governments in South Florida began moving in the same direction.

Miami-Dade voted in June to allow law officers to issue civil citations that carry a $100 fine.  A MiamiDade judge who handles misdemeanor cases and the commissioner who sponsored the ordinance said it was a waste of time and taxpayer money to arrest people.

Proponents also argue that marijuana laws are disproportionately enforced against minorities.

Wagner, 38, a former Volusia prosecutor who admits to having tried marijuana, said deputy sheriffs need to be more concerned with serious problems such as domestic violence and driving under the influence than with "some 19-year-old with a joint."

Mike Pastore, a Daytona Beach pastor to the homeless, was the only resident to speak on the issue.  He called on council members to approve the ordinance, saying he was arrested for possession of marijuana at 17 and times have changed.

"I will urge you not to change the course of someone's life with a criminal sanction," Pastore said.

The ordinance will take effect April 1 and cover unincorporated Volusia, including the beaches, which are under county control.

A spokesman for the Volusia Sheriff's Office said it is not opposed to the ordinance "from a practical and philosophical standpoint" and called the ability to issue a citation "another enforcement tool" that it welcomes.

"We certainly recognize that the public's attitude toward possession of a small, personal-use amount of marijuana and paraphernalia has become more permissive," Gary Davidson said.

Volusia law officers still will have the right to arrest people or give them a notice to appear in court if they become belligerent or otherwise difficult, Wagner said.  But if they cooperate, "a $100 civil citation is really the punishment that fits the crime," he said.  "It's enough to get people not to be stupid and totally disregard the law."

The ordinance will apply to possession only.  It still will be illegal to drive a car under the influence of marijuana.

Volusia is the latest in a number of Florida cities to opt for decriminalization.  Also Thursday, the Tampa City Council approved the first reading of a similar ordinance.  It is expected to pass in two weeks.  Fines for a first offense would be $75, rising gradually to $450 for a fourth offense.

Alachua County commissioners in January voted to draft an ordinance that would decriminalize possession of 20 grams of marijuana.  It will be modeled after the Broward County ordinance and include the Palm Beach County ordinance's provision to let people who are ticketed pay their fine through community service.

Officials in Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties said they had no plans to consider decriminalizing marijuana.

Oregon in 1973 became the first state to decriminalize pot, St.  Pierre said.  Volusia's vote could provide momentum for statewide action, he said.

"Florida is such an important state, and to have cities and counties move in this direction will only put upward pressure on Tallahassee to go for decriminalization," St.  Pierre said.