GROUP TURNS IN PETITIONS TO MAKE MARIJUANA THE "LOWEST POSSIBLE
PRIORITY" FOR KALAMAZOO LAW ENFORCEMENT

KALAMAZOO - Voters in the city of Kalamazoo are one step closer to
deciding whether to liberalize the way law enforcement deals with the
possession of small amounts of marijuana in the city.

The Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws turned in 4,776
signatures to the City Clerk's Office on Monday - 2,000 more than
required - seeking to amend the city charter to state that the
possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 and older
should be the "lowest possible priority" for law enforcement.

The clerk's office has 45 days to certify the signatures, but they
are expected to be certified by some time mid to late next week,
office officials said. The coalition needs at least 2,752 signatures
of registered voters to get the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.

"This issue has strong support from the community," said Martin
Chilcutt, political adviser for the coalition. "It will pass and
people know it."

Chilcutt said the coalition had planned to lobby the City Commission
to pass the charter amendment on its own, but decided against it
after coalition members determined that support on the commission wasn't there.

Chilcutt said that the primary idea behind the amendment is to save
tax money, not get the city closer to legalizing marijuana.

"The main thing is to stop wasting money on investigations and
arrests for small amounts of marijuana when the budget is so tight,"
he said. "The police should be spending their time on more serious
crime - robberies, assaults and serious drugs like heroin, cocaine
and meth. The police are spending a lot of time on insignificant
arrests for small amounts (of marijuana)."

Added Chilcutt: "This isn't about legalizing marijuana."

Chilcutt said that the ordinance would also provide peace of mind to
medical marijuana patients and caregivers who transport their medical
marijuana in the city. Chilcutt is a registered medical marijuana
patient whose caregiver - a person licensed with the state to grow
medical marijuana for up to five registered patients - lives in Richland.

The coalition spent nearly all of the $4,500 raised from private
donations to pay volunteers for the signature-gathering effort, which
began in the spring but ramped up significantly over the past month,
Chilcutt said. Volunteers were paid $1 per signature.

The coalition's efforts now will be focused on fundraising to pay for
a public education campaign in advance of the election.

Letters will be sent to potential private donors and, possibly, to
marijuana law reform groups, such as the Washington, D.C.-based
Marijuana Policy Project, which provided support to those who backed
Michigan's medical marijuana law in 2008.

If it is determined the coalition has enough signatures to get the
issue on the ballot, Kalamazoo won't be the only city in Michigan to
have a marijuana-related question on the November ballot.

Voters in the city of Detroit will decide whether they want to
legalize the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21
or older in the city.

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KALAMAZOO MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

What: Would amend the city charter to make the possession of 1 ounce
or less of marijuana by those 21 or older the "lowest possible
priority" for law enforcement.

Signatures gathered: 4,776.

Signatures needed to get the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot: 2,752 - 5
percent of registered voters in the city.

Organizing group: Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws.

What's next: The City Clerk's office has 45 days to certify the
signatures to determine if they are registered voters in the city.
The office said, however, that they should be certified by sometime next week.