LOCAL GROUP WANTS MARIJUANA TO BE LOWEST POLICE PRIORITY

Sensible Fayetteville wants to give voters a chance to declare
marijuana the lowest priority for police.

"We believe law enforcement should be focusing on higher priorities
and more serious issues," said Ryan Denham, an organizer of Sensible
Fayetteville.

Members of the group are circulating a petition to get an amendment
added to the ballot during next year's general election. The group
argues that drug policy should be a local decision, not something
handed down by the federal government, according to the group's Web
site, www.sensiblefayetteville.com.

The amendment would be similar to the one approved in Eureka Springs
and would make "investigations, citations, arrests, property
seizures, and prosecutions for adult marijuana and marijuana
paraphernalia offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult
personal use, the City of Fayetteville's lowest law enforcement and
prosecutorial priority," the petition states. Denham said the focus
is on adults who would fall under misdemeanor offenses, which is
possession of 1 ounce or less. He said enforcement of the law, as
written, only serves to increase law enforcement expenditures and
overcrowd jails. "We believe that at the least it should be a
citation-only offense, not an arrestable offense," Denham said. "This
is going to reduce the city's spending on law enforcement and punishment."

While the primary goal of the group is to make marijuana the lowest
priority, Denham said Sensible Fayetteville also wants to call
attention to the reality that the government's stance on marijuana is
much harsher than for much more heinous crimes, at least when it
comes to granting financial aid. College students arrested for
possession of marijuana will lose federal financial aid, he said,
while convicted felons, including rapists, are not so penalized. Sgt.
Shannon Gabbard with the Fayetteville Police Department said he
doubts that passage of such an amendment will have much of an impact,
if any, on police enforcement. He said misdemeanor marijuana arrests
typically are made subsequent to other investigations, such as
traffic stops or noise complaints.

"I don't know that they're out there doing some light patrols - going
out looking for people smoking dope in parking lots," Gabbard said.

He said that as it is, officers decide whether they will arrest a
person for possession - as in the case of a traffic stop in which
someone would be driving under the influence - or whether they want
to work on the supply chain - as in the case of answering a call to a
loud party.

"But this is totally walking away saying, ' Don't do that, '"Gabbard
said. "I don't see that, and definitely not leaving it with them."

He said that for people who want to legalize marijuana, this may be
the step to take, but for law enforcement, passage of this ordinance
probably won't mean much.

"I can tell you I don't see this making much of a ripple other than
as a political statement," he said.

Eureka Springs police Chief Early Hyatt said nothing has changed
since the law was approved in his city last November.

He said the passage of that type of amendment is a way for people to
make a statement against federal drug policy. In reality, there's not
much that can be done at a municipal level, he said.

"We're kind of at the bottom of the food chain," he