CRACKDOWN ON POT EXPECTED TODAY

A tougher marijuana jaw is about to be approved in Cincinnati, against
the wishes of the mayor and dozens of citizens who have spoken out
against it to council members over the past month.

The new law, which will be voted on today by Cincinnati City Council,
will raise the offense level for minor possession from a "minor" to a
"fourth-degree" misdemeanor.

The difference is that police will be able to arrest people for
possess-ing 100 grams (3.5 ounces) or less " even a single cigarette;
now they 2 simply write the offender a ticket.

Council member Cecil Thomas, who sponsored the law, said a tougher
stance on small amounts of pot is needed to bring Cincinnati in line
with surrounding communities specifically Covington and Newport to the
south and Indiana coun-ties to the west. He said it will also help in
getting guns and narcotics off the streets because now police will
have the ability to perform searches.

A similar proposal was made last year by then-council member " and
mayoral candidate " David Pepper, before being dropped because of a
lack of support

But this council is expected to pass the law, with a one-year "sun-set
clan se," which will force them to consider its effect and vote on it
again at that time.

While the pot law is stiffer in Kentucky, Kenton County Attorney Garry
Edmondson said officers have the discretion to simply write a citation
for simple possession, and don't have to arrest people.

"They normally don't arrest for mere possession," he said.

Mayor Mark Mallory said the law will pass with six votes, which makes
it veto-proof. "I'm not crazy about it. But I'm not going to go
through an exercise of vetoing something that has the votes to pass."

Some council members aren't crazy about it either, but the law appears
ready for passage after the sunset clause was tacked on as a compromise.

Robert Ryan, 51, a Blue Ash resi-dent who also owns property in
Oakley, told the Law and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday that
taking people to jail for a joint will exacerbate overcrowding and
cause a rise in other crime as police focus on pot. "You do things
oppo-site of what you want to accom-plish," he said.

Committee members had just finished a lengthy debate over how they can
resolve jail overcrowding.

Kyshia Williams, an 18 year-old - from Walnut Hills, said people
should stop smoking, but said she didn't think a tougher law would
cause any of her friends to stop.

"They don't think about that; they don't care about that," she
said.