DOUGLAS: NO POLITICS IN POT CONTRADICTION

MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas said Friday he does not see a
contradiction in his handling of two major marijuana busts - one of
which he criticized for alleged leniency and the other that he didn't.

This fall, when Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand, a
Democrat, approved court diversion for a Windsor lawyer arrested with
more than two pounds of pot and 32 growing plants, Douglas, a
Republican, ordered state law enforcement to send all future
marijuana cases from that county to state prosecutors.

But Douglas is poised to take no action after a Randolph man was
given court diversion after police found him with 110 marijuana
plants. That court decision was made by Orange County State's
Attorney William Porter, a Republican.

Speaking on Vermont Public Radio Friday morning, Douglas said he
directed marijuana cases in Windsor County to bypass Sand's office
because of the prosecutor's alleged "blanket policy" to send
first-time possession cases to diversion.

He added there are other differences between the two criminal cases,
but when asked said he did not know the details of the Orange County
case, in which three times as many marijuana plants were seized.

"We have a prosecutor who has had a blanket policy of deferring
first-time marijuana offenses regardless of amount," Douglas said on
the radio show.

In the Windsor County case, part-time family court judge Martha
Davis, 61, was charged in early October after police found 2-1/2
pounds of marijuana and 32 pot plants at her home. The following
month, Davis was allowed to enter the court diversion program to
resolve that complaint.

Meanwhile, 45-year-old North Johnson of Randolph was arrested in late
August after police found 110 plants and drug paraphernalia at his
home. That case, which was prosecuted in Orange County, was also sent
to court diversion.

Earlier this week, Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs said comparing the
two marijuana cases was like comparing "apples and oranges." But
Gibbs did not return several calls for further comment Friday.

Sand, when reached at his office in White River Junction Friday
morning, scoffed at the idea the two cases were so different.

"My wife's response to that was that this is not apples to oranges,
this is marijuana to marijuana," he said.

Sand, who advocates the decriminalization of marijuana and a review
of state drug laws, strongly denied Douglas' assertion that he has a
"blanket policy" regarding marijuana cases.

But as a "practical matter, there is a trend in the state to use the
diversion program - a confidential court process under which criminal
charges are dropped and the defendant may be ordered to undergo
treatment or community service - for some drug cases," Sand explained.

When asked if he thinks Douglas is being hypocritical in his
attitudes with the two cases, Sand said the governor's actions add
confusion to the drug debate.

"I think I share some of the confusion Vermonters are feeling right
now about marijuana cases," he said, after a short pause. "It is
confusing that in one case diversion is apparently unacceptable, but
in another case - which features more marijuana - diversion is acceptable."

The controversy highlights an apparent contradiction in Douglas'
stance, which is highlighted by his quotes to the Vermont media when
news of Sand's sentence broke in early November.

He told the Rutland Herald then that Sand's decision is a "bad
message to send to our kids." Vermont Public Radio at the time
paraphrased him as saying that Sand abused his discretion because of
the quantity of marijuana involved.

"We can't have a situation in Vermont where in 13 other of our
counties, possession is treated as the felony it is, and possibly
result in jail time, and in another county someone gets a 'get out of
jail free' card," he told the Herald at the time.

Sen. John Campbell, a Democrat from Windsor County, where Sand works,
said Douglas' different views on two similar marijuana cases "smells
of politics."

"This is patently offensive in light of the facts of these two
cases," said Campbell, who is a possible Democratic candidate for
governor next year. "The governor is really insulting the
intelligence of Vermonters with this."

On the radio program Friday, Douglas denied the political parties of
the prosecutors played a part in his decision.

"There is no political motivation," he said. "My motivation is public safety."

On Friday, Sand again stated the need for a statewide discussion on
drug policy. He said it could be modeled after Sen. Richard Sears'
recent roundtable discussions on domestic abuse, which led to the
consideration of new legislation.

"All the parties involved need to get together to have a serious drug
policy discussion," Sand said.

A drug policy discussion will be on the agenda for the new
legislation session, Campbell said.

"The legislature will be looking at the policies and penalties of
drug possession next year," he said.