TOUGHER POT PENALTY IS OPPOSED

A proposal to toughen the city's penalty for marijuana possession met
firm resistance Tuesday from residents and some Council members.

Saying that Ohio has the most lax marijuana laws in the nation and
that local police need more tools to combat drugs, Councilman Cecil
Thomas proposed stiffer penalties for marijuana possession.

But Councilmen Jim Tarbell and David Crowley said they would not
support the measure, echoing a chorus of citizens who attended a
meeting of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee.

"Whatever energy we have, we need to put it into more glaring
problems," Tarbell said, emphasizing that former Councilman David
Pepper made a similar proposal in August that failed for lack of support.

"There was absolutely no conspicuous support from this community,"
Tarbell said of Pepper's measure.

That was also the case Tuesday for Thomas' proposal.

"I see drug dealers down there all the time," said Susan Frances of
Over-the-Rhine. "They're not dealing marijuana."

The city needs to concentrate on more serious crime, she said.
"Marijuana is a peaceful drug," she asserted.

Thomas wants to change the city code to make possessing less than 200
grams of marijuana a first-degree misdemeanor carrying a maximum
sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Now, possession of
less than 100 grams is a minor misdemeanor under state law, meaning
police can only write a $100 ticket.

Thomas said his plan would discourage those in neighboring states
from coming into the city to buy drugs.

Those possessing less than eight ounces of marijuana in Kentucky face
a maximum sentence of at least a year in jail and a $500 fine. In
Indiana, those caught with less than 30 grams face up to a year in
jail and a $5,000 fine.

"All 49 other states have some form of physical arrest or community
control," said Thomas.

He said increasing the violation to an arrest-level offense also
would make it easier for police to search offenders and their
vehicles and perhaps find guns. That's why Councilman Chris Monzel
gave his support.

"Let's try to address something small and try to get something bigger
out of it," he said.

The new law would also allow judges to put offenders on probation and
required them to get treatment, Thomas said.

But residents voiced concerns about jail space, limited police
resources and the effect on the county's legal system.

Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis has said he didn't think Thomas'
proposal would pose a big problem for the county jail, since most
offenders could be processed and released with a court date.

But Cincinnati State student Todd Roy said the law change would
inevitably cost taxpayers because more public defenders would have to be hired.

Council Members Jeff Berding and Leslie Ghiz said they would like a
more thorough and holistic analysis of the issue.

The law committee referred the matter to city staff for study and
will deal with it at the next law committee meeting.