HEED VOTERS ON POT

Panel Right to Vote for Fewer Prosecutions

The vote this week by Denver's Marijuana Policy Review Panel urging
the city to stop convicting adults for simple marijuana possession
reinforces the message voters have twice sent to local officials.
It's a message law enforcement should heed.

The panel voted 5-4 to ask the City Council to recommend an end to
prosecution of simple possession cases for adults "absent compelling
reasons articulated . . . in open court."

The resolution echoes ballot questions passed in 2005 and 2007 that
first legalized - although only in city statute books - adult
possession of less than 1 ounce of pot and then instructed the city
to make prosecuting simple possession the "lowest priority" for law
enforcement. Voters backed both measures - by 53 percent and 57
percent, respectively.

We opposed both measures. After the first one passed we even said it
would be wrong for police to stop enforcing the state law against
marijuana possession. But given the unambiguous sentiment in Denver
to end these prosecutions, we've since concluded that the city should
back off on this matter.

The problem is that no one outside law enforcement really knows how
often people are punished for possession of a small amount of
marijuana and nothing else. Three years ago, officials insisted that
most pot charges were supplemental - add-ons to other charges and
thus used as leverage to nail the offender. We have no objection to
the use of the state pot law in this fashion.

The panel seems to agree - its recommendation Wednesday acknowledged
that pot prosecutions should be pursued "for compelling reasons."

Panelist Mason Tvert, who led the campaign to pass both measures, has
cited police statistics indicating that adult misdemeanor marijuana
arrests have gone up since the first initiative passed. Police made
1,059 such arrests in 2005, then 1,347 in 2006 and 1,587 in 2007.

What's not clear is how many of those arrests were accompanied by
other charges. The panel should have that information early next year
(along with more current arrest data) when it formally makes its
recommendation to the City Council.

Local law enforcement agencies continue to resist both measures. The
four panelists voting no Tuesday include Denver police Lt. Ernie
Martinez and Assistant City Attorney Vincent DiCroce. DiCroce
restated prosecutors' objection to the notion that the council might
try to dictate law enforcement priorities.

But the council can (and does) pass laws that prosecutors enforce.
Voters can also modify the City Charter and the Municipal Code with
ballot measures like the ones adopted regarding marijuana possession.

The 2007 ordinance defines "adult personal use" as "the possession of
less than 1 ounce of marijuana by an adult at least 21 years of age,
where the marijuana is not used or displayed in public. The sale of
marijuana . . . is not included in the definition of personal use and
is subject to prosecution under existing state laws."

Put simply, most Denverites believe police and prosecutors have
better things to do than hassle adults who have a small amount of pot
but aren't displaying, selling or lighting it in public. They've said
so twice; their opinion should be honored.

Indeed, the city seems to be coming around to that view, too. DiCroce
revealed Wednesday that his office has been discussing with the chief
county judge ways to streamline prosecutions. Under one proposal,
people cited for possession would not have to appear in court. They
could simply pay the $100 fine by mail, as they would a traffic ticket.

Such a move would signal progress; speeders don't have to appear in
court, and people caught with small amounts of pot - an act most
Denverites don't think should be treated as an offense at all -
shouldn't have to either if they choose not to fight the charges.