MARIJUANA INITIATIVE QUALIFIES FOR BALLOT

An initiative that aims to make marijuana offenses the single lowest
priority for Missoula County law enforcement has qualified for a spot
on the November ballot, according to proponents of the measure.

Dubbed Initiative 2, the measure was proposed by Citizens for
Responsible Crime Policy, and, thanks in part to months of aggressive
signature gathering, has won the support of more than 20,000
registered voters in Missoula County. The measure required just
11,723 signatures to place on the ballot.

If enough voters support Initiative 2 in November's general election,
the measure would lean on local law enforcement to make "citations,
arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana
offenses Missoula County's lowest law enforcement priority,"
according to the proposal.

The measure would not include marijuana sales or drug use by minors
as low-priority offenses, and would in no way legalize the drug.

While the initiative is a mere suggestion to law enforcement, and not
a law, the proposal does call for a Community Oversight Committee.
The committee would consist of community members, criminal defense
attorneys and a drug rehabilitation counselor who would investigate
marijuana arrests and produce a report on the initiative's effects
seven months after its passage.

"Initiative 2 will create a citizen oversight committee that would
annually track and report to taxpayers how much local government time
and money are being spent on adult marijuana offenses as compared to
other law enforcement issues," said Angela Goodhope, a spokeswoman
for the group.

The measure strives to place increased emphasis on crimes that
threaten people's lives and property and on other, more pressing drug
issues, Goodhope said.

But some law enforcement officials have balked at the measure,
describing it as another furtive step toward the legalization of marijuana.

"Personally, I think it's a joke," said Detective Tom Lewis with
Missoula's office of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. "Most
misdemeanor possession cases arise from traffic stops or arrests on
other warrants. We're not out there looking for it, but a lot of
people have marijuana in their pockets. Across the United States,
marijuana is the drug of choice. We see more marijuana than anything."

Goodhope said Initiative 2 mimics a similar measure that's been
successful in Seattle for three years.

Goodhope also noted that Montana spends more than $9 million every
year enforcing marijuana laws. Meanwhile, data from the Montana Board
of Crime Control show that less than one-third of the rapes reported
in Missoula County last year led to an arrest, and only 8 percent of
burglaries led to an arrest.