Lawrence's police chief thinks it could have "great merit." The mayor supports it, and so does the county's top prosecutor.
But George Bush's White House says a proposal to take a streamlined approach to marijuana-possession crimes in Lawrence is a dangerous idea.
Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, D.C., told the Journal-World on Thursday that marijuana was a "harmful drug" that should be strictly regulated.
"Marijuana is a great source of ignorance for many people," Lemaitre said. "They think that it's a soft drug or harmless drug, that law enforcement is wasting its resources by prosecuting these cases. That's not true."
A newly formed group, Drug Policy Forum of Kansas, is asking the City Commission to start sending marijuana-possession and drug-paraphernalia cases from District Court into the more informal Municipal Court. The group argues the change is needed to cut prosecution costs and keep college students from being denied financial aid under a 1998 federal law.
A detailed shot of marijuana, a pipe and rolling papers.
Lemaitre, the White House spokesman, said most efforts like the one in Lawrence weren't grass-roots, but were part of a national campaign funded, in part, by activists such as billionaire George Soros. Soros sits on the board of directors of the Drug Policy Alliance, which is working to liberalize drug laws.
The local group's director, Laura A. Green, said that, so far, the group was using a combination of personal money and volunteer work for its efforts. But she said the group was seeking funding from national groups.
Marijuana enforcement is seen as an increasingly high priority for the federal government, according to a study released in May by The Sentencing Project, a think tank based in Washington, D.C.
The study found that marijuana arrests grew by 113 percent between 1990 and 2002 - while overall arrests decreased by 3 percent - and that the country spends an estimated $4 billion each year on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana offenders.
During an online Journal-World chat on Thursday, Police Chief Ron Olin indicated he wasn't opposed outright to the local proposal and said that, if done well, it could have "great merit."
"I don't want to see anything that's contrary to state law or somehow implies that we are some sanctuary that has legalized marijuana," Olin said after the chat. "I want to see exactly what the proposal is."
Olin wants more input on review boards
Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin fielded questions about marijuana, a police-review board, downtown safety and other topics during an online chat Thursday.
Among the topics discussed:
¢ Olin said he doesn't have enough specifics to say whether he would support a recent proposal by Mayor Boog Highberger to have a citizen review board for the police department.
"There are many kinds and styles of review boards. ... Some review boards interfere with the management of departments, others have caused labor strife. We do not support boards that have those results."
¢ Olin said the department might be asking for money for new personnel during next year's city budget process "if appropriate."
¢ Olin said that so far he has a "smooth and cooperative" relationship with Dist. Atty. Charles Branson, who took office in January.
Olin said officers routinely happen upon small amounts of marijuana by chance. When that happens, he said, they must go through the trouble of making an arrest, filling out an evidence sheet, writing police reports and writing affidavits for court.
If the city changes the procedure, officers likely would be required only to issue the suspect a notice to appear in municipal court: a piece of paper similar to a traffic ticket. Olin said the change could give "more latitude in the enforcement action than we have at the present time."
Bruce Beale, director of DCCCA, a drug and alcohol treatment program in Lawrence, said he would have no problem changing how drug violations are adjudicated, as long as the change didn't make it easier to get away with marijuana use.
Marijuana and alcohol, he said, are "gateway drugs" to more dangerous substances.
"Prosecutions are typically a deterrent," Beale said.
The City Commission is expected to discuss the idea at a Sept. 6 meeting. Olin said the city's legal staff and members of a city-county drug-investigation unit were still looking into the details of how the proposal might work.
City prosecutor Jerry Little has said that penalties in municipal court would be comparable to those in District Court and, if convicted, the defendant still would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Little said he's asked Dist. Atty. Charles Branson to send him information about how marijuana cases are typically handled in District Court.
- Staff writer Joel Mathis contributed to this report.
Comments
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lunacydetector (anonymous) says…
my only question regarding this is.....does the city commission still have to deal with random drug testing like they used too?
i think that should be re-implimented if they did away with that requirement.
merrill (anonymous) says…
"Marijuana is a great source of ignorance for many people," Lemaitre said. "They think that it's a soft drug or harmless drug, that law enforcement is wasting its resources by prosecuting these cases. That's not true."
When is the last time any truth came from this white house? This comes from a white house who believes low yield radioactive weapons are not a health hazard to our troops.
Our previous president and our current president both did marijuana yet still were elected to the office of President of the United States. Bankers,Lawyers,Doctors,Janitors,police officers, pro athletes, senators, beauty queens, movie stars, musicians,fine craftsman,grocery store clerks and republicans have done the herb plant and are successful productive citizens. Telling lies about a substance does little to deter use.
I am far more concerned about white collar criminals in the white house administration and on Wall Street. These are the folks that need to be locked up for screwing up so many lives.
cowboy (anonymous) says…
I heard that there were WMD's in Lawrence , look out !
rooga (anonymous) says…
-merrill
I agree with everything you ever post! YOU should be on this city commission. you sound like you a brain, unlike our dreaded white house.
Godot (anonymous) says…
"The local group's director, Laura A. Green, said that, so far, the group was using a combination of personal money and volunteer work for its efforts. But she said the group was seeking funding from national groups."
Since when does local politics require funding from national, ie George Soros, for a city ordinance change?
Wake up. MoveOn has Kansas in its sights, and Lawrence is the gateway. Remember who George Soros is: a power hungry billionaire, the inventor of hedge funds, who makes his money off the the stupidity and greed of others; he is a fraud and a cheat as shown by his securities fraud conviction in France. This is your hero, Lawrence Progressives.
You think it is bad that we go to war for oil. Wait until the real drug wars come.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
You can always tell when a Bush supporter is lying: his lips are moving.
Godot (anonymous) says…
You can always tell when a Soros lover is talking: his brain isn't working.
hottruckinmama (anonymous) says…
lol lol lol!!honestly to god doesn't the white house have more to worry about then someone in good old lawrence ks smokin' a little weed? i can see it all now! bush'll probably send in troops to control you wild people. glad i live a few miles outside of town.
christie (anonymous) says…
The Republicans go on and on and on about less government, yet they meddle in every day affairs of peoples lives, their religious beliefs, and even their deaths. Now they want to tell a local community how to police itself.
I'm do not condone the rampant use of Marijuana, however, I'd rather see my children smoking Marijuana than drinking liquor, or smoking cigarettes.
Ceallach (anonymous) says…
Chances are Lawrence will not support George Bush in the next presidential election.
Manson (anonymous) says…
Macon,
The message starts at home. We all "do" drugs. Our society has confused our children with drugs. Ritilan and Aderol are Speed. Plain and simple. Yet we perscribe these medications to millions of young children everyday. From a young age, by our actions, we teach that "medicine" can solve all of our problems.
"that if you do drugs you can grow up to be mayor
or even president."-Macon
The truth Macon is that yes you can do those things. But what is more important is that Marijuana is less of a criminal activity than stealing a grape at the grocery store. People are serving sentances longer than Rapists for usage of Marijuana. The fact that our past 2 Presidents have done Marijuana sends a powerful message that Marijuana is a practice supported by our Culture. The one thing that the govenrment cannot take away is the reality of Marijuana.75% of our nation has either done it, tried it, or still does it. We the people refuse to belive what the government tells us about Marijuana because we know from our own experiences that it is not the demon they make it out to be.
The government is not the official Medicinal representative of our country and the scientific and medical community have proven marijuana's theripeutic use time and time again. Think about that the next time anyone is Seriously injured and in the hospital and is recieving Morphine or any derivitive of an Opiate. The Double Standards are evident and must be rectified. The government can't have it both ways.
ImpactWinter (Derek Dodson) says…
I can appreciate that the spread of intoxicating substances is a subject of concern for the government, but statistically, alchohol causes more deaths, many more deaths due to impaired judgement, and it's legal. Tobacco causes many more deaths due to health issues, and it's legal.
Marijuana causes you to sit on your arse and munch cheetos, illegal...
Madness.
kshaff03 (anonymous) says…
Can't say that you ever hear stories about people getting stoned and then beating the crap out of someone (when alcohol isn't invovled of course).
Dani (anonymous) says…
Ceallach - I'd say that there is a pretty good chance that Lawrence won't support George Bush in the next election, seeing as he isn't eligible to run again.
dhawk (anonymous) says…
Is that photographer going to be beaten to find out where he took that photo?
majic12 (anonymous) says…
The fact that Scumbucket Soros supports decriminalization of pot doesn't in any way alter the irrefutable logic of that position. A true conservative minds his or her own business. Potheads are generally pretty inoffensive people. They're certainly easier to take than drunks. In a country where thieving traitors like the Bush Crime Family and its offshoots (Halliburton, the Carlyle Group, etc.) can reap enormous profits by throwing our troops into a wood-chipper, anything goes.
BrianR (anonymous) says…
I can't think of anything more irrelevant than the opinion of the Bush White House.
righthand (anonymous) says…
Wow, Christie, it seems YOU are the inspiration for the term, "Holy Cow!" Man, just when I thought I had heard just about everything...
righthand (anonymous) says…
majic12:
you forgot to mention that all Bush want to do is starve children and throw old people out on the streets... Oh, yes, I forgot... that was when Reagan was president. Sorry
majic12 (anonymous) says…
The High Times magazine softball team continues their winning streak:
http://www.gawker.com/news/softball/s...
Funny how that bunch of stoners manages to defeat every softball team in New York media.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Bush reminds me a lot of Ted Bundy. The mannerisms and speech patterns are nearly identical. There's lots of footage of Bundy available --- check it out. He's also very reminiscent of Gregg Stillson, the politician in Stephen King's the dead zone.
sixtwelvewest (anonymous) says…
I'm no big champion of "legalize it," but I have no problem with marijuana whatsoever. It's too bad our government isn't smart enough to at least legalize medicinal marijuana and make a fortune selling it themselves if not legalizing it for recreational use as well. It's no more of a gateway drug than alcohol or cigarettes EXCEPT that you have to obtain it illegally, which can present opportunities to purchase other more dangerous and addictive substances, in my opinion. None of this is stated from fact. Just my thoughts.
lovenhaight (anonymous) says…
I think that the best argument for the municipal punishment of marijuana offenders is that people who get busted with small amounts, or even just a little glass piece, have their futures snatched out from under them. I can't afford college without federal aid, and I know that there are a lot of people who are in the same boat. Now, if I were caught with a joint, I would no longer be eligible for federal aid. That punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime. Maybe the stereotypical pothead sits on the couch in his 30's because he couldn't get money for school. Maybe its not so much a lack of motivation, or that pot makes you stupid. Maybe its the overreaction of our government that makes potheads stay in the basement. Either that or Half Baked is on tv again.. :)
For all those who think marijuana is always a gateway drug, I suggest you talk to a group of people who have smoked weed, yet never touched anything else. Yes, we do exist. Yes, we have bright futures, and YES we are going to do whatever we can to make sure that penalties for smokers are lessened. Its not like its cocaine or crack or something. I mean look at how those things ruin lives. They can even lead to being the mayor of D.C., or Prez of the US. Stop being hypocritical people. Our president was an alcoholic as of 10 years ago. Let me hit my pipe in peace.
Skeptic (anonymous) says…
The white house's drug policy has been to ignore their own failure at the expense of the taxpayers and the Constitution for decades on end. They shouldn't even be in on the discussion.
If you are going to misuse federal student funding policy to enforce your completely failed drug policy, don't be surprised when some enlightened local governments find way to circumvent your tactics.
No Child Left Behind Except Those With a Joint in their pocket.
olmsted78 (anonymous) says…
"Marijuana is a great source of ignorance for many people," Lemaitre said. "They think that it's a soft drug or harmless drug, that law enforcement is wasting its resources by prosecuting these cases. That's not true."
--Yeah, we know, except that we're not discussing wether these cases will be prosecuted or not-- we're discussing how they will be prosecuted. Their convictions couldn't be supported with a more ignorant statement regarding the proposal at hand.
lovenhaight (anonymous) says…
So its ok for a freshman who decided to try a little pot to be completely locked out of a college education? That is ok with you? That seems like someone who has their perspective a little bit out of whack. Have you smoked before? There are responsible ways to do it. I don't smoke if I have work to do, I don't drive after I smoke, I don't take it with me anywhere. Its something that I do in the privacy of my own home. I don't bother anyone by doing it, and I get my tasks done (and done well, I might add). I'm not fried all the time, I have a 3.5 gpa to prove it.
I don't quite see where defending the education of those who have a little baggie on them becomes misuse of federal student funding policy. If they get caught again, then by all means, take away their aid. That is their fault. Somehow I don't see how one mistake warrants loss of a college education. People can get drunk and fall out of windows and still get an education. They can wander down Mass Street covered in their own vomit and still enroll in classes. Why do people who get caught with less than an ounce of pot get their futures stripped from them? You honestly think that is fair?
avhjmlk (anonymous) says…
lovenhaight--
I don't think that Skeptic was disagreeing with you. In fact, I think he was agreeing with you (and so do I).
He thinks it's a wrong to use federal student funding policy to support a failed drug policy. The two aren't connected other than that a bunch of college kids smoke pot, but, so do a bunch of other people. It's like permanently disqualifying someone for a home mortgage because they got caught drinking under age.
Most federal student dollars are loans anyway, and will be paid back, and will earn the government money through interest payments. Also, people with college educations earn significantly more in their lifetimes than those without, which also earns the gov't more money through graduated income taxes...The feds are hurting themslves here, whether pot smoking is good or bad, because they're essentially taking money out of federal coffers.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Did anybody catch that story about that thug football player for KU who blackened some poor woman's eye at a sporting event? He blamed it on booze. THAT kid should be booted right out of KU and into a cardboard box on the street.
He's probably on some kind of scholarship.
kansaskev61 (anonymous) says…
Let's get real here. KU's enrolllment is down. KU's standing in the polls is falling. We are number 47 of the top 50 universities down three from the year before. Lawrence is not run by the city commission, but by KU. If we stop enforcing marijuana laws in Lawrence, every pot smoking teenager in the country will enroll at KU and move here. The enrollment numbers will go up, the money will start rolling in to both KU and Lawrence. Then KU will be named number one Party School in the nation. The MJ sellers will move into the Hobbs Taylor Lofts. The Bottleneck can remodel to fit into the new "Plaza" look planned for the east side of downtown and save itself from being closed. Boog can be named Grand Poohbah of "The People's Republic of Douglas County". We can create yet another KU logo this time with the Jayhawk holding a joint. The city logo can be redesigned to encorporate the leaf and every hippie over the age of 50 will have a place to call home. We could grow it here in Douglas County, harvest it and the chem students at KU can create an alternate fuel source that will really get Lawrence and KU in the papers. We can start an annual hemp fesitval and celebrate all that is great about Mary Jane. Cheech and Chong can lead the parade. We could move the final resting places of all the Pot Smoking greats like Marley and Garcia to Oak Hill and we'll call ourselves "Lawrence, The Hemp Capitol of the World". Forget "Kansas the Wheat State", forget the Sunflower, lets just go ahead and make the state flower Marijuana. The new motto. "Kansas: As High as you think".
Lets do it!
lovenhaight (anonymous) says…
That'll teach me to read and smoke.. :) Just kidding. Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out of context.
pylon25 (anonymous) says…
I have zero sympathy for those who lose their aid eligibility for pot. You knew the consequences before you lit up, if you get caught, so be it. It's like speeding. I know if i get caught i get a ticket, and if/when i do, theres no one be blame but myself. Consequences for breaking the law are nothing new, if you dont want to risk losing your aid, stop smoking pot. It's your choice and your consequences. It's no different than drug testing for a job, if you smoke, fail the test, no job. If you smoke, get caught, no financial aid from the govt. Grow up and accept some responsibility.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
And what if you have a tendency toward glaucoma? Go BLIND in obedience to a stupid, tyrannical law?
My late wife died after an absolutely heroic struggle with cancer that lasted 13 years. If it wasn't for pot, she would have had fewer years, and her suffering would have been considerably worse.
I would have shot dead anybody who tried to interfere with her medical decision.
merrill (anonymous) says…
By golly kansaskev61 I believe you may be on to something...seriously now.
pylon25 (anonymous) says…
I'm not a doctor, but i beleive that all the pot does in a medical situation is ease the pain, not increase the life span. Again, i'm not a doctor, but thats my understanding. I refuse to believe that there are not other prescription drugs out there for pain. It's a poor excuse for using an illegal substance.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
You're right about one thing, pylon25: you aren't a doctor. Chemotherapy destroys the appetite. there is only one known drug that stimulates the appetite: marijuana. She had Fentanyl for the pain, and that's as good as it gets. But you are as ignorant as the day is long about medicinal marijuana, and like the other morons in this country that shill for Big Pharma, you haven't learned one thing from this country's disastrous experiment with the Volstead Act.
topflight (anonymous) says…
Just what we need in this down, more pot smokers. Dont we already have anough hippies in this town smoking pot. Personally, i think you are a HIPPY if you smoke pot. We have rich hippies in frats, rich hippies who are our JUDGES, and attorney's. Poor hippies who hold up stupid signs like "honk for hemp". How about this sign. honk if you are tired of hippies talking about pot. but, lets make sure we get KU enrollment up by allowing them to smoke pot. That is the smartest thing i have ever heard.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Set one foot on my turf and you'll find out just what kind of "hippie" I am, o lover of the Nanny State.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
And learn how to spell, you moron.
ImpactWinter (Derek Dodson) says…
I think that with the criminality of pot comes the question of "does the punishment fit the crime?"
People get convicted of drunk driving and don't lose their jobs or their licences. Come to work plastered, get sent home with a reprimand. Do it again, maybe get fired.
fail a drug test for marijuana (even if it was used in the privacy of your home), lose your job. Get caught with pot on you, go to jail.
seem a little lopsided? does to me
I think america really needs to re-evaluate what it is we're really trying to stop. Legalizing marijuana would destroy a whole wing of the drug trade. the government could tax the bejeezus out of it, make a pile of money, and force some of the criminal elements to go legit in their trade. I'll take the stoned over the drunk anyday of the week.
Stoned fratboys don't break my windows and fight in my parking lot, drunk ones do...
Not to mention, $4 billion dollars a year could be spent making peoples lives better, not harrassing otherwise productive citizens for pot use.
I mean really!
topflight (anonymous) says…
Hey MAJIC. Oh i will set foot on your turf. When the swat team breaks your front door down for growing, selling, and smoking pot. Plus, you would be to high fight off a 1st grade girl. oh yeah, learn how to spell. (good one)
And for those of you who no nothing about driving while intoxicated and driving while high on drugs. They both do the same thing, and effect your driving. You can still hit someone head on while high on drugs. Of course it also depends on how much you smoke, snort, or shoot. But we all know, most people on this message board who support this ordinance smoke pot. I cannot wait till one of the members of the so called Drug Policy Forum of Kansas gets arrested for marijuana.
topflight (anonymous) says…
I also agree to each their own, just dont push your crap on me.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
I rest my case.
joemite (anonymous) says…
I think any law, or repeal of law, that increases personal freedom is a step in the right direction. Does it really matter if you're drunk or high, as long as you're not hurting anyone else? Sure, if you screw up and hurt someone else, especially while entoxicated, there should be consequences. Why can't peaceful citizens do whatever they please in the privacy of their own homes and property?
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
first, apparently in the pot-haze university george bush will be running again (see above).
second, I have been saying: issue free pot to the homeless, as a way to diminish crime etc., wonderful behavioral mod for a population?
third, there may not be anything better than pot to increase a chemotherapy patient's appetite, but I know for a fact that there are better and safer treatments for glaucoma.
Logic0 (anonymous) says…
I am proud to see Lawrence making such a move. And they are so right. If you bust a college student for personal possession he/she may get their financial aid taken away and then what happens? theres a good chance they drop out and become a freakin drug dealer. So we would have spent money to ruin someone's life and fuel the very cause they are trying to supress.
Good luck to the mayor, et al, on staying strong with the proposal!
DPFKS (anonymous) says…
is there a part of lawrence where all the perfect people live? the people who make no mistakes and live in glass houses? evidently.
do you know, topflight, that your second DUI is prosecuted municipal court? it's not until your third time driving drunk and getting caught that you go to district court and get a felony.
Tell me, what's the greater harm to society, some with pot in their purse or someone who can't stop driving a car drunk?
it's about resources and relative harm.
space_rabbit_kerosene (anonymous) says…
Actually according to a recent study which tested the driving abilities of people who had consumed a fair to moderate dose of marijuana found that reaction time was actually improved. However the test subject's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle decreased when the dose was increased to a level which produced the more far reaching psychoactive effects. Of course the parameters and validity of the test can be questioned: in this particular case the data presents some interesting results. My experience with the use of marijuana certainly made me a better driver: because it decreased my desire to venture into public and thus reduced my capacity to be involved in a car accident.
With regard to the efficacy of marijuana as a medicine all I would ask is don't you desire some control over the choice of medications prescribed when you need them? Far from the coercive nature of the medical field today, I think a little more personal autonomy would be great. Aside from a couple oxygen atoms, Ritalin is the same molecule as methamphetamine. while there is much speculation about the benefits of this drug, we are continuing to push it along with many other habit forming legal drugs on segments of our society that are not capable of questioning medical opinions.
We are doomed =)