cannabisnews.com: Pot Laws Divide Students, Law Enforcement Pot Laws Divide Students, Law Enforcement Posted by CN Staff on May 06, 2005 at 09:58:44 PT Newsmakers of the Year Source: Maneater Missouri -- Members of the MU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws have tried desperately to keep pot offenders in city court for years. In 2003, they tried unsuccessfully to pass a proposition that would have reduced the penalties for misdemeanor pot convictions. The proposition failed by 52 percent. But in November, NORML got their wish. In one of Boone County's highest voter turnouts, voters passed two ordinances — one reducing penalties for possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana, the other allowing the use of marijuana by seriously ill patients with the consent of their doctor. Then, a firestorm ensued. Police bristled at the thought of treating fourth- and fifth-time offenders the same as first-time pot offenders. City prosecutors didn't like being prohibited from sending some pot cases to state court. MU police refused to follow the ordinance, saying they are not bound by city ordinances. Members of the Columbia Police Officers Association waged a war against the ordinance, linking marijuana use to the fatal shooting of Columbia police officer Molly Bowden in January. All the while, the NORML kids stuck by their original goal, they didn't want first-time pot convictions to affect students' federal financial aid. From a Missouri Students Association Senate resolution in support of the proposition to hosting a state cannabis conference, NORML got the word out on pot. The result was a 13 percent change of heart by Columbia's voters, resulting in the ordinance's passage. This passage prompted city officials to announce the deferment of all first-offense misdemeanor marijuana cases for one year. The deferment means that if offenders don't get caught violating any laws for that one year, the marijuana charge will never be filed. Flash forward to April, when incoming NORML President Bailey Hirschburg spoke to the Columbia City Council, defending the ordinance. Hirschburg said the ordinances did more than offer empty promises and waste tax dollars. It sent a message, he said. NORML is in for a fight. Members of the CPOA are planning to collect 2,900 signatures to place the ordinance on a summertime ballot to be repealed. Knowing NORML though, it won't come easy.Source: Maneater, The (Columbia, MO Edu)Published: May 06, 2005Copyright: 2005 The ManeaterContact: forum themaneater.comWebsite: http://www.themaneater.com/Related Articles & Web Site:University of Missouri NORMLhttp://www.students.missouri.edu/~normlMarijuana Ordinance Defendedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20538.shtmlPolice Pot Petition Challengedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20537.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 06, 2005 at 22:21:35 PT Taylor That is weird. I just checked again and it's still fine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Taylor121 on May 06, 2005 at 22:19:27 PT Weird I haven't been able to load the MPP website for several days now. I assumed the website was down. The rest of the internet functions fine... I guess I'll have to look into this :( [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 06, 2005 at 22:17:02 PT Taylor I just checked MPP and it loaded fine for me. I don't know about the club being the same one O'Reilly was talking about. I looked for a web site and couldn't find one. Some clubs don't have web sites it seems. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Taylor121 on May 06, 2005 at 22:03:14 PT I wonder I wonder if that is the same cannabis club O'Reilly was talking about on his show. I know it was in LA.Is it just me or is the MPP website down? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on May 06, 2005 at 21:22:06 PT URGENT: DEA & LAPD Raiding L.A. Dispensary DPFCA: URGENT: DEA & LAPD Raiding L.A. Dispensary Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 20:20:18 -0700 A patient friend in LA just called to say that the DEA and LAPD have just raided Compassionate Caregivers on LaBrea in Los Angeles. He believes a number of patients were on the premises and are being arrested. That's all I know for now.-- Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications-- Marijuana Policy Project-- P.O. Box 77492 -- Capitol Hill -- Washington, D.C. 20013 Marijuana Policy Project [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 06, 2005 at 18:01:25 PT Toker00 Just for the record I'm not young. All I want in what I do is to help bring change so this war will end and hopefully in my lifetime. I believe when we find something we can do we should do it and do it the best we can. If we can't keep up the pace then we should bow out and hand it over to someone who can pick up the torch and go with it. That is not just about CNews but about how we need to look at issues we involve ourself in thru the years. As far as egos go a definition from dictionary.com says this: An inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others.I say no one is superior to another person. No one is better then another person. We all are created equal and some have a better opportunity to achieve something in life then another but that doesn't mean they are better then another. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Toker00 on May 06, 2005 at 17:37:13 PT FoM I concur. I don't know for sure, but of the in-fighting among reformers I've seen, it's all ego related. We all fight for Cannabis liberation, but our personal preferences sometimes create unneccessary friction. All in all, though, I think Cannabis reformers have done a tremendous job, considering the size and strength of our opposition.And you, young lady I don't know where you get your sustainance. You are an historical figure. Or you will be when we win the War on Cannabis Users. And, we WILL win.Peace. Legalize, then Revolutionize! (medicine)(energy)(nutrition) [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on May 06, 2005 at 17:30:40 PT CPOA Thugs NORML is in for a fight. Members of the CPOA are planning to collect 2,900 signatures to place the ordinance on a summertime ballot to be repealed. Knowing NORML though, it won't come easy.It would be comical if these thugs couldn't even garner the measly 2,900 signatures but in a way I hope they do get them because it might be funnier if their summertime ballot ordinance lost by an even greater margin than the NORML proposition won by! Regardless, the members of the CPOA are exposing themselves as heavy-handed bullies.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On an unrelated but historic note, I srongly urge everyone to watch,record and share the rebroadcast of David Ray Griffin's lecture tomorrow if they haven't already...Saturday, May 7 at 2:30 pm (ET) on C-SPAN2 - Rebroadcast of David Ray Griffin's momentous 9/11 Truth Lecture at the University of Wisconsin: http://www.booktv.org/General/index.asp?segID=5677&schedID=362IT'S THE ONLY WAY OUT...Odigo says workers were warned of attack: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=77744&contrassID=/has%5CScientific American Plans 9/11 Hit Piece: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2005/050505hitpiece.htmBush, Blair and the Osama Tapes - If the Moon could talk, what would it say? http://globalresearch.ca/articles/OSS505A.htmlTHE HANDSTAND - 9/11 News: http://www.thehandstand.org/archive/may2005/articles/911.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 06, 2005 at 14:56:54 PT Toker00 I also appreciate NORML. They've been around since I can remember. I also appreciate MPP. They aren't in competition with each other in my mind. They are covering different areas and all the areas are important. If I felt there was only one way to win this war on Cannabis and I knew it would work I'd shout it from the rooftops. No one person or organization is more important then the whole community of people that work in different ways to help our cause. That's how I see it. I don't like when someone says MPP is right and NORML's wrong or vice versa. That kind of thinking makes the antis very happy in my opinion. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Toker00 on May 06, 2005 at 14:48:45 PT LOL. I love this statement. "Knowing NORML though, it won't come easy."Where would we be without NORML? I hate to think where.Thank you, NORML. And yes, all the other .orgs on our side!Peace. Legalize, then Revolutionize!(medicine)(energy)(nutrition) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment