ELECTION 2006 - Sowing the Seeds of Pot Reform

By Paul Armentano

While drug law reformers should not view the initiative process as the primary mechanism for enacting substantive legislative reform (that duty still belongs to state legislatures and Congress), there’s little doubt that voter initiatives have been a highly successful way for activists to amend and overturn some of America’s more egregious marijuana policies.

Of the eleven states (Medical Marijuana Programs) that have passed legislation legalizing the physician-recommended use of medicinal cannabis since 1996, eight – Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington – have done so via voter initiative. In addition, activists at the local and county level have been equally successful in recent years passing numerous pot ‘deprioritization’ laws (such as Seattle's I-75 and Oakland's Measure Z) by plebiscite. By contrast, only one state legislature, Nevada’s, has successfully decriminalized cannabis in recent memory.

This November, citizens at both the state and local level will once again have opportunities to vote directly for marijuana law reform, as more than a half dozen pot liberalization measures will appear on the 2006 ballot. Below is a summary of this fall’s most prominent ‘pot-friendly’ proposals.

STATEWIDE INITIATIVES:

COLORADO

Following last year’s passage of a Denver initiative ‘legalizing’ the possession of small amounts of pot, Colorado’s SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation) is now taking its message and efforts statewide. If passed by Colorado voters this fall, Amendment 44 – the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative – would eliminate all state criminal and civil penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults age 21 or over. State election officials certified the measure for the 2006 ballot in August after supporters turned in more than 130,000 signatures in favor of the proposal – nearly twice the total necessary to place it on the ballot.

"The fact that we collected nearly twice as many signatures as are required under [state law] highlights the widespread support for ending the madness of marijuana prohibition in Colorado," says Mason Tvert, SAFER’s Campaign Director. "This campaign will highlight the hypocrisy of laws that prohibit the use of marijuana while allowing and even encouraging the use of alcohol, an infinitely more harmful drug."

The campaign will also be dirty – though SAFER has their opponents to thank for that. Just days after Amendment 44 was officially certified for the November ballot, the Boulder Daily Camera broke news that US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials were seeking to spend taxpayers' dollars and use paid staff time to campaign against the proposed measure – an act that potentially violated both state and federal laws. Though the Colorado media justifiably criticized the DEA’s underhanded efforts – with one paper dubbing the Feds’ anti-drug squad the “Drug Indoctrination Agency” – marijuana law reform proponents assume that the Feds dirty tricks aren’t done yet.

To learn more about Amendment 44, visit: www.safercolorado.org

NEVADA

Despite campaign setbacks in 2002 and 2004, proponents of Nevada’s Question 7 are once again seeking to persuade Nevada citizens to support the taxation and regulation of cannabis for adults. If passed by voters this November, Question 7 would remove all criminal and civil penalties for marijuana use by those age 21 and older. The measure would also seek to create a statewide system for the taxation, legal cultivation, distribution, and sale of cannabis to adults by licensed vendors. If approved by voters in 2006, the measure would have to be reaffirmed by a majority of Nevada citizens in 2008 before it could become law.

“By removing marijuana from the criminal market, the initiative would free up police time so police officers can focus on violent crimes, property crimes, and people who drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance,” states the measure’s backers the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana (CRCM) .

Proponents further argue that taxing and regulating the use of cannabis in Nevada would generate an estimated $28 million in annual tax revenues. According to the CRCM website, Question 7 would earmark half of this money for state-funded drug education and rehabilitation programs.

To learn more about Question 7, visit: www.regulatemarijuana.org

SOUTH DAKOTA

After spending years unsuccessfully lobbying South Dakota’s inflexible legislature on the issue of medicinal cannabis, state voters will now have the opportunity to decide the matter for themselves.

Initiated Measure 4, sponsored by South Dakotans for Safe Access and South Dakotans for Medical Marijuana, would allow state-authorized patients to possess up to six plants and/or one ounce of cannabis for medical purposes. Qualified patients must possess a physician's recommendation to use pot and must register with the state Department of Health. Non-registered patients, or those who possess greater quantities of cannabis than allowed under state law, would have the option of raising an 'affirmative defense' of medical necessity at trial.

Like previous initiative efforts legalizing the medicinal use of cannabis in other states, this year’s South Dakota effort looks to be a winning proposition – with one poll reporting that 64 percent of South Dakotans support allowing patients to use cannabis medicinally when recommended by their physician. For South Dakota’s patient population, passage of the initiative couldn’t come a moment to soon. In 2003, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that a patient’s medical need for marijuana is not a valid a legal defense. As a result, South Dakota’s medical cannabis patients currently face up to one year in prison for possessing minor amounts of pot or even having detectable amounts of the herb in their blood or urine.

To learn more about Initiated Measure 4, visit: www.sodaksafeaccess.org or www.sdmedicalmarijuana.org

MUNICIPAL INITIATIVES:

SANTA BARBARA, CA

Several California towns this fall are seeking to take the state’s longtime marijuana decriminalization law one step further. In Santa Barbara, local activists have placed a measure on the municipal ballot that seeks to make the enforcement of California’s pot laws the city's "lowest priority."

Sponsored by Sensible Santa Barbara, the proposed citywide measure directs municipal police to make all law enforcement activities related to the investigation, citation, and/or arrest of adult cannabis users their lowest priority. It would also appoint a community oversight committee to monitor police activity as it pertains to marijuana law enforcement. Seattle voters passed a similar proposal in 2003, which has led to a 75 percent reduction in citywide marijuana arrests.

All early indications point to victory this November. According to the results of a November 2005 city poll, nearly 80 percent of Santa Barbara voters oppose incarcerating convicted pot offenders, and 67 percent believe that "marijuana users should be treated the same, under the law, as alcohol users." In addition, Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams, publisher of the Santa Monica Mirror, has also announced his support for the measure.

For more information, visit: www.sensiblesantabarbara.org

SANTA CRUZ, CA

Like voters in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz citizens will also decide this fall on the fate of a proposed ordinance (Measure K) to make police activities related to the investigation, citation, and/or arrest of adult pot smokers local law enforcement’s lowest priority. Polling indicates that 85 percent of Santa Cruz citizens oppose criminalizing adults who use cannabis, and proponents of the measure are hopeful for success in November.

“Voters in Santa Cruz are tired of the failed and immoral federal war on drugs,” says Andrea Tischler, chair of Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy, the organization behind the initiative effort. “By passing this initiative, Santa Cruz can be a beacon of light showing the way to a more sensible policy that is compatible with the values of the majority of citizens.”

For more information, visit: www.sensiblesantacruz.org

SANTA MONICA, CA

Santa Monica voters will also decide this November on municipal Measure Y. Similar to the initiative efforts in Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, Measure Y seeks to make the enforcement of minor marijuana violations the lowest priority for the Santa Monica Police Department.

Passage of Measure Y “will allow Santa Monica police to focus their time and resources on fighting violent crime, instead of wasting resources arresting and imprisoning nonviolent marijuana offenders,” states the Sensible Santa Monica website. “Santa Monica police arrested 293 non-violent adult marijuana users in 2004 – costing the city around $600,000 in tax payer money to prosecute [them.]. With Measure Y, [Santa Monicans’] resources will be more effectively spent.”

If all three California municipal measures pass this fall, California activists are expected to begin efforts to take a similar ‘deprioritization’ initiative statewide in 2008.

For more information, visit: www.sensiblesantamonica.org

EUREKA SPRINGS, AR

Voters in the Arkansas community of Eureka Springs will have the opportunity this November to 'deprioritize' pot possession. City election officials confirmed in August that a municipal initiative that seeks to decriminalize minor marijuana possession offenses will appear on this fall’s municipal ballot.

Sponsored by the Fayetteville/University of Arkansas chapter of NORML, the proposal directs local law enforcement to issue a summons in lieu of a criminal arrest for adults found to be in possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and or marijuana paraphernalia.

The measure states, "When any law enforcement officer suspects any adult of possession of a misdemeanor amount of marijuana and/or possession of marijuana paraphernalia, that person shall not be required to post bond, suffer arrest, suffer incarceration, suffer prosecution, be taken into custody for any purpose nor detained for any reason other than the issuance of a summons, suffer prosecution, suffer incarceration, suffer loss of driver’s license, or any other legal punishment or penalty other than: the issuance of a citation."

Several municipalities - most notably Ann Arbor, Michigan and Madison,
Wisconsin - have enacted local decriminalization laws. Voters in Columbia,
Missouri passed a similar ballot initiative in 2004 amending the city criminal code to depenalize the possession of marijuana and/or paraphernalia to a fine-only offense.

For more information, visit: http://norml.uark.edu

MISSOULA, MT

Finally, voters in Missoula will have the opportunity this fall to vote on Initiative 2. Like the proposed California measures, I-2 would direct local police to make the enforcement of minor pot violations their lowest priority, and it would appoint a community oversight committee to ensure that the police are obeying the voters’ mandate.

“We want to make our community safer, and we believe law enforcement agencies spend too much time and money on adult marijuana issues as compared to more serious crimes that threaten people's lives and property,” states the initiative’s backers, Missoula Citizens for Responsible Crime Policy. “[The] 30-plus years of current marijuana policies haven't worked. It's time to talk about alternatives and smarter use of taxpayer dollars.”

For more information, visit: www.responsiblecrimepolicy.org


Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for NORML and the NORML Foundation. He may be contacted via e-mail at paul@norml.org. For more information on ‘pot friendly’ candidates and pending legislation, please visit: www.norml.org.