TELLURIDE CONSIDERING 'SENSIBLE' POT ORDINANCE

Telluride voters soon may decide whether enforcement of marijuana
possession laws against adults should be the town's "lowest law enforcement
priority."

A group of citizens has petitioned the town board to make possession of
marijuana for "adult personal use" a low priority and to "make a statement
to state government to tax and regulate it rather than prosecute it," said
Ernest Eich, one of the chief backers.

He also said a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state medical
marijuana laws can be trumped by federal law "essentially held that states
can't enforce laws discriminating" in this case users of marijuana for
medical reasons.

"Medical marijuana is supported by a majority of the public," he said.

The Telluride ordinance would not discourage busting juveniles for pot, nor
would it legalize selling it.

Seventh Judicial District Attorney Tom Raynes, whose sprawling district
covers six counties including San Miguel, said the proposed ordinance
"sounds like it's just making a statement.

"In Colorado now, possession is a petty offense for a joint, a small amount
or paraphernalia."

And current law isn't enforced much anyway, Raynes said, provided the small
amount of marijuana is the only potential offense against a person.

"I'd say 90 percent of what we do get comes from a DUI or bar fight,
resulting from a search. And they're only petty offenses," he said.

Eich, however, said that conviction of a petty offense concerning marijuana
"has federal ramifications, like you can't get student loans, and many jobs
where there's a background check."

If the ordinance is approved, Telluride would join Seattle and other cities
in enacting "sensible marijuana laws," said Allen St. Pierre, executive
director of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"It started back in the '70s in places with flagship universities, like
Berkeley and Madison. It's spreading to ski towns.

In other places, small amounts aren't prosecuted by custom and tradition."

In September 2003 Seattle voters passed Initiative 75, requiring police and
prosecutors to treat possession of small amounts as their lowest priority.

He also said that "given Colorado statutes, it's redundant in a way for a
Colorado town to do anything more formal" other than to join other American
communities in the "sensible" movement on marijuana.

Chief Marshal Mary Heller takes no position on the proposed ordinance.

"We're sworn to enforce the ordinances that the community possesses,"
Heller said.

"We'll have to assess it if it goes through, and the outcome will give us
community input, which is very important to us."

The Town Council could adopt the petition as written, or it could send it
to the voters in the town's next election Nov. 1, Town Clerk M.J. Schillaci
said Friday.

Telluride By The Numbers

A group of citizens has asked the Telluride town board to make adult pot
possession a low enforcement priority. The area's demographics:

Median age 31
White 93%
Black 0.4%
Hispanic 7%
College graduates 59%
Own home 36%
Rental 64%
Median home price $567,000