VOTERS MAY HAVE SAY ON POT'S LEGALITY

When Lori Fickey was cited for possessing less than an ounce of
marijuana Thursday, she said she was not doing anything dangerous and
was hardly a threat to other people.

Fickey, 24, of Grand Junction, who was ticketed after an officer
searched her truck outside a restaurant on North Avenue and discovered
a small amount of marijuana, said she thought it was absurd that
possession of miniscule amounts of "an herb" in Colorado is even a
crime.

"It shouldn't be illegal," she said. "You have people out there who do
things with alcohol. That's where you see most of your crime."

Come November, Colorado voters will likely have a chance to agree or
discount Fickey's sentiment that there's nothing wrong with
responsible use of marijuana.

A ballot measure pending approval by the Colorado Secretary of State's
office would, if passed, modify the state's drug laws and allow adults
21 and over to legally possess an ounce or less of marijuana. The
ballot measure would not affect any other marijuana law.

Currently, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is a class 2
petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100.

An analysis of the ballot initiative, compiled by the state's
Legislative Council staff, reports that there were roughly 3,700
convictions last year for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.

According to the records division at the Grand Junction Police
Department, there were 378 petty, 15 misdemeanor and 21 felony
citations involving marijuana within the city limits last year.

So far this year, the department has recorded 217 petty offenses, 14
misdemeanor and 14 felony incidents involving marijuana.

Based on the police statistics obtained by The Daily Sentinel, it was
unclear how many of the reported petty offenses involved an ounce or
less of marijuana.

Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said he could see "no
good reason" to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Hautzinger said while he had initially questioned assertions that
marijuana was just as powerful a "gateway drug" as cocaine,
barbiturates or amphetamines early in his career, his experiences now
have shown him that marijuana offenses are usually paired with more
serious crimes.

"In the last couple years -- more on anecdotal than statistical
evidence -- I've become convinced of marijuana's effect," Hautzinger
said. "Practically every case I have seen come across my desk, as
elected DA, that has involved marijuana has involved methamphetamine.
It's rare that we see just marijuana possession cases anymore."

Hautzinger said the ballot measure's supporters also are mistaken when
they assert that police have more pressing matters to pursue than
enforcing marijuana possession laws.

"Outside of marijuana dealing we aren't directing resources at
combating the drug," Hautzinger said. "We're not sending officers out
door to door to find people smoking a joint."

Hautzinger said the marijuana charges are usually part and parcel of
larger cases.

If any reforms are going to be made, Hautzinger said they need to be
passed at the federal level. He said state-level reforms like the
proposed ballot measure -- especially when marijuana use is so closely
tied to methamphetamine cases -- are simply not good policy.