cannabisnews.com: It May Be Time To Change Marijuana Laws It May Be Time To Change Marijuana Laws Posted by CN Staff on October 02, 2004 at 15:25:45 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press Chicago -- Mayor Richard Daley, a former prosecutor, runs the nation's third largest city with a pragmatic, law-and-order style. He wears his hair short, and you'll never catch him in a Grateful Dead T- shirt.So when he starts talking about what a colossal waste of time and money it is to prosecute small-time marijuana possession cases, people take notice. "This is absolutely a big deal," said Andy Ko, director of the Drug Policy Reform Project for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state. "You've got a mayor in a major American city that is not thought of as the People's Republic of Seattle and the People's Republic of San Francisco coming out in favor of a smart and fair and just drug policy." What Daley did was to say that a police sergeant was on to something when he suggested that it might be better to impose fines between $250 and $1,000 for possession of small amounts of marijuana rather than prosecute the cases.Sgt. Thomas Donegan had determined that 94 percent of nearly 7,000 cases involving 2.5 grams of marijuana or less filed last year in the city were dismissed anyway.Daley wondered if perhaps ticketing offenders might be the better way to go."If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out and we have police officers going (to court to testify in the cases), why?" the mayor said. "It costs a lot of money for police officers to go to court."That reality is nothing new to the officers, who are used to spending hours making arrests, writing reports and waiting around in court only to see the charges dropped or a guilty plea that leads to nothing more than probation or drug education classes."While officers are doing everything to keep the streets safe, the offender gets arrested and is walking the street in just a few hours," Donegan wrote in his report. "To me, this is a slap in the face to the officers."Both the police and defendants know it's rare for anyone arrested for a small amount of marijuana to get the maximum penalty in Illinois: 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine. Pat Camden, a Chicago police spokesman and a former officer, said he couldn't remember a single case.Leonardo Nevarez, 23, wasn't worried when an officer found what he said was half a joint in his pocket in August. He pretty much knew he'd be ordered to attend a drug education class.About the only question he had last week when he went to court was whether the arresting officer would show up. If he didn't, the case would be dismissed."Yeah, I was hoping he wouldn't be there," Nevarez said. "He was there."Nevarez said he could have dragged the case a long a little longer, as some defendants do when they see their arresting officers in court, in the hopes that the next time he was in court the arresting officer wouldn't be there. But after talking briefly to a public defender, he entered a plea, the judge ordered the class, and Nevarez went home.The case had taken up the time of police officers, court clerks, a judge and an attorney.Chicago wouldn't be the first if it reduced the penalty for possessing a small amount of marijuana. In California and Oregon, possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 to $500 fine. In Colorado, it doesn't even rise to the level of misdemeanor -- it's a petty offense with a fine of no more than $100.It was the way Daley's thoughts on the subject became public that was so unusual: There was no public pressure for the mayor to speak out, he just did.In Seattle, voters passed an initiative requiring law-enforcement officials to make personal use marijuana cases their lowest priority, and in Oakland there is a similar initiative on the November ballot. Chicago has nothing of the sort."This isn't anything the voters had to push politicians into taking this position," said Graham Boyd, who heads the ACLU's Drug Law Reform Project.Some observers say Daley's statements also have added weight because of the mayor's background."As a former prosecutor, nobody is going to say he's soft on crime," said Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former city alderman.Chicago is a long way from changing how it handles marijuana cases. Police spokesman David Bayless said the department has yet to study Donegan's report to determine if the conclusion that the city could have collected more than $5 million in fines is even accurate.Still, Daley's comments alone could have a wide impact."This will make it easier for other officials to say the same thing," Simpson said. "I can imagine mayors in other cities coming out agreeing that this shouldn't be treated as a high crime.Note: City May Impose Fines To Offenders.Source: Associated Press Published: October 2, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Sites:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/DecrimWatchhttp://www.decrimwatch.com/Sanity In Chicagohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19568.shtmlDon't Arrest for Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19553.shtmlSmall-Time Pot Arrests Huge Hassle for Courts http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19551.shtmlRegulation Increases Control Over Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19540.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by afterburner on October 02, 2004 at 23:24:17 PT can America ever grow up? Good question, Sam. It reminds me of a book I recently discovered:Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs, Format: Hardcover, Pub. Date: May 2004 Kirkus Reviews' Social philosopher Jacobs (Systems of Survivals, 1992, etc.) warns that the collapse of Western Civilization is in the cards, unless we start reshuffling our economic, cultural, and political decks with alacrity.... Jacobs argues that what she calls the "five pillars of our culture" are in jeopardy. These comprise families and communities, higher education, science and technology, taxes and governmental power, and, finally, the self-policing of learned professions. ' http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=uF7y7G9AJi&isbn=1400062322&itm=1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 18:20:15 PT A Little Comic Relief - SNL I'm sure everyone knows that tonight is Saturday Night Lives Season Premiere. This should be good.http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 17:07:12 PT mayan I've been stressed to the max. I have had chest pains over it. I'm ok now but we haven't been having a lot of arguing recently about politics. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 17:03:11 PT mayan I've seen that happen before. If you pressed the post icon more then once even slightly that usually causes it. I call it a hiccup. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 17:02:31 PT FoM... You're welcome. I know you've been stressed due to the moron and his war in Iraq and also his war against us. I have been too. I think anyone that values freedom and truth is probably feeling some effects on either their mental or physical well-being. It will be a great relief when he is gone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on October 02, 2004 at 17:02:26 PT I'll never understand.... This country is so damn high-minded and arrogant about freedom, equal rights, etc, and yet you continually see stuff like this:"Chicago -- Mayor Richard Daley, a former prosecutor, runs the nation's third largest city with a pragmatic, law-and-order style. He wears his hair short, and you'll never catch him in a Grateful Dead T- shirt."It's perfectly OK and 100% politically correct to persecute bohemians here! Apparently when most people see a "hippie", they immediately envision a cop beating the crap out of them. At some conscious or unconscious level, they think it's OK for the cops to bust hippies for no reason. It's so childish - can America ever grow up? I guess not. People are so shortsighted. If it wasn't for the people in tie-dyes, Viet Nam would still be going! Women would still be discriminated against in the workplace. Blacks in the South would be getting lynched. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 16:58:34 PT Thanks mayan I am glad to read that. This is something funny I heard on the news today. They said the vice presidential debate will be Tuesday and it will be like having Hannibal Lechter debating Mr. Rogers! I thought that was so funny. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 16:55:46 PT Huh??? How did my comment get #5 and #7? Whoa!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 16:51:55 PT FoM... This is unrelated but I thought it might brighten your day some. According to a new Newsweek poll Kerry is back on top... http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041002/nysa013_1.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 16:22:09 PT mayan Thank you. That was good to read. I finally took a little stand and put a small icon on my personal web page. I wanted it small because maybe that way it won't upset anyone if it's tiny.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 16:16:05 PT FoM... This is unrelated but I thought it might brighten your day some. According to a new Newsweek poll Kerry is back on top... http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041002/nysa013_1.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 16:11:56 PT $ $ $ Daley and the pigs are just trying to find a way around the much wiser judge's dismissals. They just want their drug war gravy train to keep on chuggin' along.Will the cops still have to hold the confiscated bud as evidence if this plan goes through? If not, what will they do with it besides smoke it and compare it to their other cop buddy's confiscated bud?My advice to the people in Chicago and elsewhere...Just don't get busted! Starve these thieving pigs! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 02, 2004 at 15:41:51 PT Money Everything in government seems to be looked at on the basis of money. Money is important because we need it to live but money isn't why change is needed. It's because a law over a plant that has been here and used on this earth since the beginning of time shouldn't be against the law. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on October 02, 2004 at 15:35:15 PT Moral confusion They're all proud of themselves for saving money.(rolling eyes) [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on October 02, 2004 at 15:31:38 PT The man answered his own question ""If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out and we have police officers going (to court to testify in the cases), why?" the mayor said. "It costs a lot of money for police officers to go to court." "Right now I am thinking of that tee shirt that says "I may be stoned, but I'm not stupid." [ Post Comment ] Post Comment