GROUP SEEKS TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA IN MIAMI BEACH

Pro-Marijuana Activists, Backed by the Director of the Cocaine Cowboys'
Documentaries, Are Pushing to Decriminalize Marijuana in Miami Beach

Miami Beach voters could cast ballots for Mary Jane come November
should a budding effort to decriminalize marijuana possession in the
city gain traction.

In front of City Hall Wednesday evening, the Committee for Sensible
Marijuana Policy announced a drive to gather signatures in support of
a proposed amendment that would make "personal" possession of
marijuana in Miami Beach a civil code violation punishable by a mere
fine.

"We're empowering local government to deal with this differently,"said
Ford Banister, the group's chairman.

Banister hopes to put the proposal before the city's voters in
November.

But already questions have been raised about the legality of the
initiative, given state and federal authority over drug laws.

Florida law says possession of less than 20 grams of pot is a
misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Activists like Banister argue that criminal charges for personal
marijuana possession are excessive and a burden on police, prosecutors
and jails. Banister's proposal would punish possession of less than 20
grams with a city-levied fine of $100.

Norman Kent, the attorney who drafted the proposal, said police would
have the choice to issue a city code citation or charge a subject
under state law.

Not surprisingly, the movement has its critics.

Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower said she would not support such
a change in the city's code, and questioned whether marijuana laws
could be changed in Miami Beach alone.

And Bob Jarvis, a constitutional law professor who teaches at Nova
Southeastern University, said he was "stunned" and doubted the
viability of the proposal.

"Even if it got enough votes to pass, I would assume at some point in
that timeline federal officials would say, 'What the heck are you
doing here?' " he said.

Banister scoffed at any skepticism, and said "we are prepared to
defend the amendment without question."

Prosecutors and voters have weakened laws against personal marijuana
possession in cities and towns such as Seattle and Breckenridge,
Colo., and the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy was successful
with a similar 2008 ballot initiative in Massachusetts.

However, decriminalization proposals have never made it to a vote in
Florida. Banister's group has spent months gathering petitions in
Orlando, Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach without success.

Miami Beach's charter states that 10 percent of its 42,527 registered
voters must support a ballot initiative for it to reach a vote. That
would have to happen before Aug. 20 for the amendment to go before
voters in the Nov. 2 election, according to a spokeswoman with the
Miami-Dade Elections Department.

Banister said the group had about 80 signatures since starting
Friday.

The group may have better luck in Miami Beach than in other Florida
cities. The film studio rakontur, which created the Cocaine Cowboys
documentaries, has backed the effort financially. Wednesday's press
conference was advertised on rakontur.com, which once offered visitors
fake Miami Beach parking passes.

Cocaine Cowboys director Billy Corben said he reached out to Banister
to bring the decriminalization initiative to Miami Beach in part
because of its reputation as a progressive city.

"Are the people of Miami Beach ready for a sensible marijuana policy?"
Corben said. "We're just saying let's find out."