NO ON MEASURE 57

Under current law, toting around less than an ounce of marijuana is a
noncriminal act punishable by a fine up to $1,000. Measure 57, which will
appear on the ballot Nov. 3, would make it a Class C misdemeanor, which
means small-time pot users would face not only a fine, but a jail sentence
of up to 30 days.

While we don't condone marijuana use, Measure 57 strikes us as the wrong
way to stop it. When the state develope an estimate of the law's cost --
about $1.5 million annually -- it assumed that about 6,000 penny-ante pot
users would be busted every year, and that half of them would spend one day
in jail in addition to paying a fine. Faced with these mild consequences,
we don't think Oregon's weed warriors are going to be flushing their
stashes down the commode any time soon. Meanwhile, marijuana users who do
get comparatively stiff sentences will occupy jail space desperately needed
for more serious offenders.

The most reasonable punishment for people caught with small amounts of
marijuana is the one that's already on the books.

We see no reason to change it.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski