CITY'S MARIJUANA ORDINANCE GETS REHASHED

On the day after the 28th Annual Hash Bash, Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid
Sheldon said Sunday that she and other Republican council members are
studying whether to put the city's $25 marijuana possession penalty on
the ballot again.

The city's pot penalty has come under attack recently as too lenient
by Republican state Sens. Mike Rogers of Brighton and Beverly
Hammerstrom of Temperance. They are backing a bill to prevent local
communities from levying drug penalties less stringent than the state
law. The bill passed the Senate 36-1 last month and is headed to the
House.

Under state law, marijuana possession is a misdemeanor punishable by
up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. For a first offense, a person
typically receives six months probation, a $200 fine, substance abuse
screening and treatment, if necessary, said Washtenaw County
Prosecutor Brian Mackie.

Sheldon said that while she does not oppose the state penalty, she is
concerned that lawmakers are "trying to interfere with what Ann Arbor
citizens have voted on." She would prefer that local voters decide to
keep the penalty as is, or change it on their own.

Rogers and Hammerstrom could not be reached for comment.

Hash Bash started in 1972 to promote marijuana use. Two years later,
Ann Arbor voters approved a charter amendment making marijuana
possession a civil infraction punishable by a $5 fine. In 1990, voters
increased the penalty to $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second
offense and $100 for subsequent offenses.

However, on the University of Michigan diag, where a large part of the
event takes place, state law is enforced because it's considered state
property. The $25 penalty applies to adjacent city property and
surrounding neighborhoods.

Mackie said he believes Ann Arbor's law "fosters an image of Ann Arbor
as a haven for drugs."

"One of the best things we could do to improve the image of our
community and send a message to young people is to repeal that
ordinance and prosecute under state law," Mackie said.

Thirty people were arrested Saturday on U-M property for marijuana
possession, said university spokeswoman Julie Peterson.

Ann Arbor Hemp, a group pushing for the legalization of marijuana,
sponsored Saturday's Hash Bash, which drew 5,000 people.

Others oppose stiffer marijuana penalties, including the Hammerstrom
bill, which Ann Arbor Hemp member Lori Sasfy called
"ridiculous."

"The lawmakers should not be spending time trying to push this through
when there are so many other pressing issues," said Sasfy, 20, a U-M
junior from Monroe.

State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem Township, was the only senator
who voted against the Hammerstrom bill.

Smith said the bill made a scapegoat of the Hash Bash and did not
address "substance abuse problems that exist statewide 365 days a
year." Focusing on treatment rather than shifting penalties is a
better way to reduce substance abuse, she said.

U-M officials have challenged the Hash Bash unsuccessfully in court
several times. Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Donald Shelton ruled in
1992 that sponsors had a constitutional right to hold the
pro-marijuana rally.