Seeing billboards advertising marijuana would make a lot of people do double takes because pot has been reviled as a devil weed for generations.

But as that old Bob Dylan song goes, "Times they are a changing." Pro-marijuana billboards are on city buses in Portland, Maine, ahead of Tuesday's ballot proposal, which if approved would make the city the first in the East to legalize pot for recreational use.

Cigarette ads used to populate street and roadside billboards and those on buses. But because of the health hazards of cigarette smoking, those have been banned in most cities, including Portland. But the Greater Portland Transit District did accept $2,500 for the marijuana billboards on four buses and in two bus shelters, the McClatchy Washington Bureau reports.

If the ballot proposal passes, the city would join Colorado and Washington in legalizing - and taxing - marijuana for recreational use.

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Regarding Judge Julian Bush's commentary, "Make first-time drug possession a misdemeanor," the drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2011, there were 757,969 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not lower rates of use.

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Two hundred and fifty years ago, Cesare Beccaria, an early criminologist, emphasized that punishment that is swift and sure does far more to discourage crime than punishment that is severe.

In the intervening years, criminologists have repeated that lesson to us. Regrettably, the criminal justice system in the city of St. Louis is failing abysmally in the task of punishing criminals swiftly.

During the most recent year for which statistics are available - the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 - the average number of days for disposition of felony cases (felonies are more serious crimes; misdemeanors are less serious crimes) in the city of St. Louis is 248 days from the filing of an indictment or information charging the commission of a crime.

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Terry Duncan dropped out of high school when his dad died. He wanted to earn some money and help the family. He got a job laying sod. That job didn't last forever, but it set the tone for his career.

He's had a series of jobs, most of which involved physical labor. He's done a little sales work, and he once ran a tavern, but mostly he's worked with his hands and his back.

Ten years ago, when he was 45, he got a job in maintenance with the Edward Jones Family YMCA in Maryland Heights. He started part time in 2003 and went full time in 2004. Funny how things work out. He had been reared in Maryland Heights, and when he found the job, he was living in Maryland Heights. That's where his wife's house was. They'd both been married before.

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There are predictions that, sooner or later, marijuana use will be legal in most states in this country. We've all read that the recreational use of marijuana is now legal in Colorado and Washington state. It also is legal for medical purposes in about a dozen states.

Medical research shows a clear link between marijuana use and mental illness, especially schizophrenia. Samuel T. Wilkinson, resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at The Yale School of Medicine, wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal about the connection between pot-smoking and schizophrenia. Every high school should make the reading of this column mandatory for students.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield's City Council has voted again not to lower the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The council Monday night defeated a proposal to limit penalties for possession of the drug and declined to place an alternative proposal on the August ballot. Supporters of the proposals said they would meet later to decide what their next step might be, The Springfield News-Leader reported.

The proposal would have required the city to charge some first- and second-time offenders who had 35 grams or less of marijuana with municipal infractions, rather than criminal misdemeanors. Exemptions also would have allowed suspects to be prosecuted in state court for multiple offenses or when other crimes are committed, or at the discretion of the county prosecutor.

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Officers Have Higher Priorities.

What are police officers for, and why do we have them? How are their time and your tax dollars best used? Most people don't often consider these questions, but as Missouri legislators consider changing the laws regarding personal use and possession of marijuana, they are worth pondering.

I spent 36 years on the streets of Denver as a police officer, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you think police should be using most of their time providing quick response to your calls for service and working to prevent and solve crimes like assault, murder, rape, robbery. I'd bet you would think the old saying "When seconds count, police are only minutes away" should be limited to as few minutes as possible and that police should be just around the corner when someone threatens your property, your well-being or your life.

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A pathetic public disservice, "A case against legalizing marijuana" (April 9) recycles 1970s drug-war disinformation. "Not so fast"? 52 percent now favor legal pot. California legalized medicinal use in 1996, and 13 more states and Washington, D.C., have since followed. Colorado and Washington legalized recreational weed in 2012, with 12 more states expected by 2017, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has lost the war on pot. It should focus on alcoholism and real drug abuse (meth, heroin), and stop promoting pot stigmatization, punitive mandates and unjust incarceration. Unlike cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana is not physically addictive and never killed anyone; overdose is impossible. Suppressed science consistently confirms long-established benefits of medical weed and minimal potential for harm.

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Participants will include members of law enforcement, legislators, progressive, and conservatives

ST. LOUIS -- On Saturday, April 13, Show-Me Cannabis will host a statewide conference on cannabis law reform at the Crowne Plaza Downtown at 200 N. Fourth Street in Saint Louis. The conference will be held from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. will attract participants from across Missouri and nearby states. The event is co-sponsored by Missouri NORML and Greater Saint Louis NORML.

The conference will feature panel discussions with individuals who approach cannabis policy from a variety of different perspectives, but all agree that the laws prohibiting marijuana have failed and require immediate reforms. In addition to cannabis law reform activists, speakers will include members of law enforcement, notable progressives and conservatives, and local and state legislators.

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ST. LOUIS A city police sergeant who moonlights as a lobbyist for Show-Me Cannabis has filed suit against the department for allegedly stifling his pro-pot politicking.

News that Sgt. Gary Wiegert was registered as a lobbyist for the organization that advocates legalizing marijuana raised eyebrows last week and prompted Police Chief Sam Dotson to denounce Wiegert's views as his alone and "not what is expected of our officers."

But it didn't end there, alleges Wiegert's attorney, Albert Watkins.

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ST. LOUIS - Police Chief Sam Dotson said Friday that political lobbying by a veteran sergeant for a pro-marijuana group is "not what is expected of our officers."

As first reported by Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan in a column Friday, Sgt. Gary Wiegert is a lobbyist for Show-Me Cannabis, which wants Missouri to allow the regulated sale of marijuana. The group says it wants regulation "in a manner similar to alcohol."

Wiegert also lobbies for the St. Louis Tea Party.

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Several of my young colleagues were talking wistfully about establishing a commune.

"I'm in," I said, although I had not been invited.

There was an awkward silence. Perhaps the commune they had in mind was not going to have a shuffleboard court.

"What skills would you bring?" one asked me.

That might have been meant as a trick question. I'm always asking for help with the computer. I can't master the new phone system. I bump into things. I would not be a lot of help if the commune wanted to build a barn. So I considered the question. What skills would I bring?

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JEFFERSON CITY A bill filed in the House would reduce penalties for marijuana possession in Missouri, effectively setting the same penalties statewide as those already in place in Columbia.

Barring certain exceptions, people who are caught with less than 35 grams of marijuana would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no more than $250. Thirty-five grams is about 1.25 ounces.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Rory Ellinger, D-University City, and seven other Democrats also would allow individuals to expungethe offense from their record if he or she performs community service and pays the fine.

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The war on marijuana is going up in smoke, and it's about time. There is no bigger waste of money and resources in all law enforcement.

Failure is too polite a description for the long campaign to eliminate the pot trade in the United States. A colossal flop is what it is. After four decades and billions spent, marijuana is easier to get, and more potent, than ever.

More than 40 percent of all Americans over 12 have tried it, and at least 30 million people smoke it every year. The most recent national drug survey found that 18.1 million Americans had used it during the previous month.

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Many proponents of marijuana legalization don't really like to admit it, but marijuana isn't the magical, harmless drug that they want it to be. We'd be fools to think that anything is completely harmless.

According to CDC statistics, marijuana use contributed directly to about 150 deaths in 2010. SAMHSA surveys from that same time show about 5 million people identified as heavy marijuana users, and this statistic corresponds very closely to those who identified as either physically or psychologically dependent. If you were so inclined, you could come up with all kinds of statistics on how marijuana negatively affects people's lives.

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DES MOINES, Iowa -- Bills that would decriminalize marijuana and would approve its medical use may be headed for the Iowa Legislature.

State Rep. Bruce Hunter told the Des Moines Register that he is preparing a bill on decriminalizing pot possession as long as those caught with marijuana weren't selling it.

The Democrat also says he'll reintroduce a medical marijuana bill, and state Sen. Joe Bolkcom says he'll be seeking co-sponsors in the coming session for his medical marijuana measure.

Gov. Terry Branstad has said he'll veto bills that would legalize marijuana for any use.

Voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures earlier this month that let adults 21 and over to possess small amounts of marijuana under state regulation and taxation.

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COLUMBIA - The MU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana will host an event Saturday to encourage votes for Missouri's marijuana legislation reform.

The conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Saturday in MU's Allen Auditorium.

Defense attorney Dan Viets, a spokesman for the organization's MU chapter, said the Saturday event will include a discussion about the current marijuana reform occurring across the nation and the organization's tentative plans to push for reform in Missouri's 2014 or 2016 election. Viets said marijuana reform typically fairs better in presidential elections because more youth and progressives are likely to vote.

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Supporters of a controversial marijuana ordinance hope to overturn City Council's recent decision, but they won't do it by gathering signatures.

Maranda Reynolds, of Springfield Cannabis Regulation, said the group has decided not to pursue a referendum petition to undo council's Sept. 24 repeal of the ordinance, which would have restricted the penalties that can be assessed for minor marijuana possession.

"We were thinking about a referendum, but we decided it would be unwise because (City Council) could use the same move they did with the petition to kill it," Reynolds said. "We don't want to take the risk of doing all that work again only to have them go around it."

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More states will consider legalizing the drug for treatment, but many people oppose it and the federal government still outlaws it.

Every two weeks Greg T. of Independence drives downtown to the city's underbelly to buy an eighth of an ounce of pot.

He's smoked marijuana for 37 years. He says it's the only thing that eases the agony of his Crohn's disease, an autoimmune disorder that attacks his intestinal tract.

A devout Christian and former Boy Scout, the 54-year-old father of two loves his country. But for decades, he said, that country has forced him to become a criminal to survive.

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Council Will Consider Various Options, Including Ending the Measure

The City Council will discuss four amendments to the newly passed marijuana decriminalization bill on Monday, one of which would repeal the law.

The petition initiative was passed by the council Aug. 27 with the immediate intent to amend the bill to, at the least, remove illegal portions. However, four council members have co-signed an amendment to do away with the initiative entirely.

"I stand on the side of full repeal," Councilman Thomas Bieker said. "I didn't get my name in in time to be a co-sponsor."

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