CANNABIS LAW ENFORCEMENT BRINGS NEARLY $200,000 TO CARBONDALE

CARBONDALE - "Win-win-win" and "possession of cannabis" don't
usually fit well in the same sentence, but in Carbondale a
two-year-old city ordinance has proved there are ways to ameliorate a
situation when a law has been broken.

In March 2004, the city council passed an ordinance amendment allowing
city court to try some cannabis and drug paraphernalia possession
cases rather than referring them to circuit court.

In a press release issued Wednesday,
Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole called the ordinance and cannabis law
enforcement program a "tremendous success."

Cole said city prosecution of 378 illegal drug possession cases from
March 2004 until the end of April 2006 has brought nearly $200,000 to
the city's general fund.

"The numbers show that our efforts have been worthwhile," he
said.

Cole said the first part of the tripartite "winning scenario" is the
city takes a firm stand against the use and sale of cannabis and drug
paraphernalia.

The minimum fine for breaking the ordinances is $250 with a maximum
fine of $750. First-time offenders have the option of paying the
minimum fine, or of paying a lower fine of $125 and completing 25
hours of community service work within 45 days.

Assistant City Attorney Casey Parker, who handles the cannabis cases
in city court, said the ordinance seems to prevent some people from
repeating the offense - at least, within city limits.

"For some of them, especially some of the students, once they are
fined, they don't repeat," she said. "Most of our repeaters are repeat
offenders no matter what."

Parker noted the fines in Carbondale are high - a good deterrent
against repeat offenses. The trade-off is the city does not send
anyone to jail. And for many people, that is worth paying a little
more money.

That, and the opportunity to have an offense listed as a city
ordinance violation rather than a criminal misdemeanor.

If an offender is eligible for court supervision, his or her record
won't show even the ordinance violation, Parker said.

"We try to give supervision if they are eligible for it," she said.
Eligibility requirements include that a defendant not already be on
supervision for another case, or not have a significant number of
other violations or repeat offenses.

Cole said that is the second part of the "win" scenario. Offenders at
the lowest level of involvement - those in possession of less than 10
grams of cannabis - have "the opportunity to reconcile their actions
against society without a lengthy court process and without the
resulting possibility of a damaging criminal record," Cole said.

Finally, sending minor cannabis and drug paraphernalia offenses to
city court helps alleviate some of the burden from the circuit court
system without overburdening the city.

Cole said part of his goal in promoting the ordinance was for the city
to answer "Jackson County's call for assistance in dealing with public
safety costs"

Jackson County State's Attorney Michael Wepsiec noted that skimming
off the little offenses helps reduce the workload for his office and
gives those with minor offenses a chance to keep a clean record.

"It cuts down on the crime lab's work load, too" he said, noting that
prosecution of cannabis offenses requires official testing of the
suspect substance by the state police crime lab.

Offenders who admit breaking the law and go to city court - especially
those first-time offenders who are eligible to use the city's
pay-by-mail option - save the labs the trouble of proving the cannabis
is cannabis.

"The cases are intermixed with everything else," Parker said, adding
that the addition of the cannabis cases is not overwhelming the city
court docket.

"I'm very happy with the ordinance," she said. "There was a need for
it."

Parker said the need was communitywide. She said she was initially
surprised by the age of many offenders, but has since gotten used to
seeing repeat offenders over 35 years old.

"This is a program that fits within our communitywide policing efforts
- - it is not just something focused on young people or college
students," Cole said. "I think it is fair to say that the
'win-win-win' scenario was accurate."