DALEY BACKS CHANGE IN POT LAWS

Small-Time Marijuana Cases A Waste Of Time, Chicago Mayor Suggests

CHICAGO - Mayor Richard Daley, a former prosecutor, runs the nation's
third-largest city with a pragmatic, law-and-order style. He wears his
hair short, and you'll never catch him in a Grateful Dead T-shirt.

So when he starts complaining about the colossal waste of time and
money involved in prosecuting small-time marijuana cases, people take
notice.

"This is absolutely a big deal," said Andy Ko, director of the Drug
Policy Reform Project for the American Civil Liberties Union in
Washington state. "You've got a mayor in a major American city ...
coming out in favor of a smart and fair and just drug policy."

Last month, Mr. Daley said that a police sergeant was on to something
when he suggested that it might be better to impose fines between $250
and $1,000 for possession of small amounts of marijuana rather than
prosecute the cases.

Sgt. Thomas Donegan determined that nearly 7,000 cases involving 2.5
grams of pot or less were filed last year in Chicago. About 94 percent
were dismissed.

Mr. Daley wondered whether ticketing offenders might be
smarter.

"If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out and we have police officers
going [to court to testify in the cases], why?" the mayor said. "It
costs a lot of money for police officers to go to court."

Police officers are used to spending hours making arrests, writing
reports and waiting around in court, only to see the charges dropped
or a guilty plea that leads to probation or drug-education classes.

Chicago officials are a long way from making permanent changes. The
Police Department is still studying Sgt. Donegan's report, which
concludes that the city could have collected more than $5 million in
fines last year.

Still, Mr. Daley's comments alone could have a wide
impact.