ELECTION 2006:

by Paul Armentano

This fall, all pot politics will be local.

For the second straight year, citizens across the country will decide on a number of municipal ballot initiatives to significantly liberalize their local cannabis laws. Following the success of Seattle's 2003 deprioritization initiative and last year's multiple victories in Oakland, CA (making marijuana enforcement the city's "lowest priority"); Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI (legalizing the use of medi-pot); Columbia, MO (depenalizing marijuana possession to a fine-only offense and legalizing the use of medicinal cannabis); and throughout Massachusetts (where voters in three state Senate and eight House districts overwhelmingly approved non-binding "public policy questions" calling for substantive pot-law reforms,) local activists in Colorado, Kansas, and Michigan are sponsoring their own efforts to bring sensible pot policies directly to the people.

A HISTORY OF SUCCESS

Advocates of drug law reform have long relied on local politics -- including the passage of municipal initiatives and ordinances -- to enact tangible and substantial challenges to prohibition. For example, years before California became the first state to legalize the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana, San Francisco voters and Oakland's city council approved similar legislation at the local level. Outside California, municipal resolutions supporting the use of medical cannabis proved similarly successful in the cities of reckenridge and Frisco, CO, and Burlington, VT. While none of these local ordinances trumped state law, they provided city wide legal protections for patients (by mandating local police to make the arrest and/or prosecution of medical marijuana users their "lowest priority"), and offered local voters their first opportunity to demonstrate their support for marijuana-law reform at the ballot box. Perhaps most importantly, the success of these local campaigns laid the foundation for the eventual passage of statewide medical marijuana laws in these states (California in 1996, Colorado in 2000, and Vermont in 2004) by demonstrating that the public was willing and eager to support such reforms.

Local initiatives have also been a successful tool for those advocating for the personal use of cannabis, most notably in Ann Arbor, MI. The city's famous pot decriminalization ordinance, passed by voters in 1974, mandates that persons possessing small amounts of marijuana face no more than a nominal civil fine. To assure compliance with the law, the ordinance also mandates that local law enforcement may not refer local pot cases to state authorities.

Since the passage of Ann Arbor's law, local voters and city councils in dozens of towns like Berkeley, CA; Naperville, IL; Amherst, MA; Columbia, MO; and Madison, WI have approved similarly sensible pot policies, which have allowed tens of thousands of municipal residents to effectively avoid exorbitant fines, legal fees, criminal records and possible jail time for their marijuana use.

2006 MUNICIPAL POT PROPOSALS

DENVER, COLORADO:
The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative

Sponsored by SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation), the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative seeks "to have the private adult use and possession of marijuana treated in the same manner as the private adult use and possession of alcohol." If passed by Denver voters, the proposal would eliminate all local civil and criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by those age 21 and over.

“With respect to overdose deaths, domestic violence, sexual assaults, and overall harm to both users and society, alcohol is clearly a more dangerous drug than marijuana,” explains SAFER executive director Mason Tvert. “Our city’s policies should reflect these truths... Whether we win or lose this November, we are certain that, in the long run, Denver residents will recognize and accept that penalties should not be more severe for individuals who choose to use marijuana rather than alcohol.”

SAFER, which was founded earlier this year in response to a string of fatal alcohol overdoses at Colorado colleges, gathered more than 12,000 signatures from Denver voters to place The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative on this year's ballot. The group previously coordinated the passage of a pair of student referendums at Colorado State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder mandating that the universities' sanctions for marijuana use should be no more punitive than those for alcohol.

Read the text of the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative here:
http://www.saferchoice.org/d_initiative.html

Learn more about SAFER here:
http://www.saferchoice.org/

Contact:
SAFER
P.O. Box 40332
Denver, CO
mail@saferchoice.org


TELLURIDE, COLORADO:
Question 200

Citing inspiration from last year's passage of Oakland's Measure Z, Telluride's Question 200 seeks to deprioritize marijuana law enforcement and create a taxed and regulated system for the legal distribution of cannabis.

Sponsored by the group Sensible Colorado, passage of Question 200 shall make "the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of marijuana offenses ... the Town's lowest law enforcement priority." The proposal further adds, "If the adult use of marijuana is ever recognized as lawful under Colorado law, the Town of Telluride shall support the creation of a system to license, tax and regulate marijuana for adult use as soon as possible."

"Question 200 is the result of a movement by the Telluride community to deal with the recent rise in violent crime," says Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado. "Sensible Colorado hopes the Telluride Initiative will serve as an example of how a humane and effective marijuana policy can work in Colorado."

The group, which turned in twice the necessary signatures to place Question 200 on Telluride's November ballot, plans on coordinating a similar, statewide initiative for 2008.

Read the text of Question 200 here:
http://www.telluride-co.gov/docs/town_ballot_110105.pdf

Learn more about Sensible Colorado here:
http://www.sensiblecolorado.org

Contact:
Sensible Colorado
P.O. Box 18768
Denver, CO 80218-0768
info@sensiblecolorado.org


LAWRENCE KANSAS:
Municipal marijuana ordinance

The Lawrence City Commission is expected to vote this October on the adoption of a proposed ordinance to make marijuana law enforcement the city's "lowest priority." The ordinance, spearheaded by the Drug Policy Forum of Kansas (DPFKS), also demands that all cases involving first-time cannabis offenses be heard in Municipal Court rather than District Court.

According to the proposal's backers, such a move would spare minor pot offenders -- most notably local area students -- from losing their federal student aid as well as other potential federal benefits. "The long-term benefit [of passing this ordinance] will be less young people with criminal records, which jeopardizes their ability to receive student financial aid, fewer people losing state and federal welfare assistance, and less money spent on District Court prosecutions," says Laura Green, DPFKS executive director. Generally, Municipal Court handles only lower-court offenses, such as traffic violations and city-code infractions.

According to DPFKS, the city's District Attorney, City Prosecutor, Mayor, Police Chief, and the majority of Lawrence law enforcement officers support the proposal, which is similar to existing decriminalization ordinances already in effect in neighboring Wichita and Topeka. In order for the proposed ordinance to become law, three of the five city commissioners must approve the language.

Read more about Lawrence's municipal ordinance here:
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21056.shtml

Learn more about The Drug Policy Forum of Kansas here:
http://www.dpfks.org

Contact:
The Drug Policy Forum of Kansas
941 Kentucky Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
laura@dpfks.org


TRAVERSE CITY AND FERNDALE, MICHIGAN
Medical Marijuana

If last year's victory in Ann Arbor and Detroit were any indication, Michigan's citizenry is primed for the legalization of medical marijuana.

This November, voters in Ferndale (a suburb of Detroit) and Traverse City will decide on a pair of ballot proposals to protect medical cannabis patients. Like Detroit's successful 2004 measure, Ferndale's municipal initiative seeks to create an "exemption" under the city code for authorized medi-pot patients. Traverse City's measure asks residents to make the prosecution of medical marijuana users the city's "lowest law enforcement priority." A recent poll of Michigan voters found that more than 60 percent back legalizing medical cannabis.

"Our ballot initiative wins for medical marijuana in Detroit and Ann Arbor were an inspiration for NORML activists all over the state," says Michigan NORML Executive Director Tim Beck, who is coordinating this year's measures in conjunction with the Coalition for Compassionate Care. "Victory has created a life and momentum all of its own."

Voters will decide on the proposals on November 8.

Read more about Michigan's municipal initiatives here:
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=7841

Learn more about MI-NORML here:
http://www.minorml.org

Read the text of Ferndale's Proposition D here:
http://www.ferndalecares.org/

Read more about Traverse City's initiative here:
http://www.compassionateMI.org/

Contact:
Michigan NORML
PO Box 640
Eastpointe, MI 48021-0640
director@minorml.org


Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for NORML and the NORML
Foundation. He may be contacted at: paul@norml.org.