SENATE VOTES TO DECRIMINALIZE POT

SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate voted Monday to decriminalize marijuana, a
substance so controversial that it's listed as a dangerous narcotic under
federal statute but considered so inconsequential in California that
possession of small amounts is less serious than a traffic ticket.

Coincidentally, also Monday the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to make
minor possession of marijuana a misdemeanor instead of a felony and
implement a voter-approved ballot measure that allows medical use of the weed.

"Clearly the climate is opening up a bit," said Keith Stroup, executive
director of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws in
Washington, D.C. "I think a lot of elected officials are feeling it's safe
to have a healthy debate on this."

California since 1976 has levied a maximum fine of $100 for possession of
small amounts of marijuana, but a conviction is still a misdemeanor. The
Senate voted 22-12 to make possession of less than an ounce by first-time
offenders an infraction so that the status of the offense will match the
punishment.

Former state Sen. Quentin Kopp asked for the change after he was appointed
to the San Mateo County Superior Court bench.

Within a few weeks of his appointment, Kopp learned that defendants --
hoping to avoid a record and knowing they can lose no more than $100 --
often ask for a jury trial and a court-appointed attorney to defend them.

He said jury selection can be a major challenge for prosecutors, and the
process is a waste of taxpayers' money.

"Juries can't understand the reason they are spending three days in court
for this kind of offense. You start asking juries if they have any feelings
about this quantity of marijuana, and you'll be surprised. Imagine what
it's like in some counties like Humboldt or Mendocino."

According to the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws,
California law enforcement made 58,068 marijuana arrests in 1997, ranking
42nd in the nation in per-capita arrests. Stroup said California was one of
11 states that decided in the 1970s to stop using jails and prisons to
punish people convicted of minor possession.

Nevada is the last state in the union where minor possession is still a
felony, Stroup said, but the bill on its way to Gov. Kenny Guinn would
change that to a maximum fine of $600 for a first offense.

"The country, I think, is finally recognizing that marijuana is not an
addictive drug," said the Nevada bill's author, Assemblywoman Chris
Giunhigliani, D-Las Vegas. "It's a habit-forming drug, but it's not addictive."

Voters in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Maine and Nevada have
passed initiatives that allow the medical use of marijuana.

This attitude of more tolerance, as Stroup described it, conflicts with a
more-conservative stance by federal law enforcement and courts. The U.S.
Supreme Court recently ruled that federal law makes no exemption for
marijuana use by ill patients, which leaves people who distribute the
substance open for federal prosecution.

The tough-on-drugs stand also was evident in the vote on the marijuana
decriminalization bill that passed the California Senate on Monday, Both
Republicans and Democrats opposed the bill, which was introduced by
Republican Sen. Bruce McPherson of Santa Cruz.

Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, voted yes during a roll call but switched
his vote to a no after the bill had gotten more than enough votes to pass
the Senate. Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, also voted against the measure.

"It wasn't an easy vote," Oller said. "Both sides had good arguments. I
think reasonable people can differ on this."