STRICTER MARIJUANA LAW RENEWED

Cincinnati's stricter law for marijuana possession will stay in
effect.

The ordinance - which makes having even a small amount of pot
punishable by a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail - was set to
expire this week. But City Council members renewed it Wednesday.

More than 20 people testified Tuesday and Wednesday in favor of
letting the one-year ordinance die. They said it only contributed to
the crowding at the Hamilton County Jail and that police officers
should be spending their time fighting serious crime.

But Police Chief Tom Streicher said the ordinance led officers to find
62 guns between April 2006 and the end of February.

Councilmen David Crowley and Jim Tarbell voted against the renewal.
Tarbell suggested putting another one-year cap on the ordinance, but
that would have required Councilman Cecil Thomas, who put the
ordinance forward, to allow an amendment. Thomas did not.