POLICE GROUP PETITIONS AGAINST POT ORDINANCE

After writing a letter last month to city leaders asking for help
overturning the city's new marijuana ordinance, the Columbia Police
Officers Association is now circulating a petition to reverse the ordinance
that passed with 61 percent of the vote in November.

The two-part ordinance reduced penalties for possession of less than 35
grams of marijuana and decriminalized medicinal marijuana.

Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm said though officers are enforcing the
law, he is not happy with the ordinance.

"I would be pleased if the ordinance was repealed," he said.

Boehm could not cite specific cases where the ordinance has caused
problems, but said the ordinance does not sufficiently punish multiple
offenders.

"We have to treat third or fourth or fifth offenses the same as we would a
first offense," he said. "When you have subsequent offenses, those need to
be dealt with more harshly."

Before the ordinance passed, municipal courts dealt with first-time
offenders and state courts handled multiple offenders.

City Prosecutor Rose Wibbenmeyer said she doesn't like being prohibited
from sending certain cases to state court when the state requests the transfer.

"I don't think there was a problem before the ordinance was enacted," she said.

Boehm said he did not know how many people have signed the petition.
Despite his opposition to the law, he said enforcing still is his duty.

"My job is to make sure the officers are enforcing the law as it is," he said.

Eleanore Wickersham, a member of the League of Women Voters, said the
police group is late in expressing its opposition to the ordinance.

"The people have spoken and this is the law they want for their town," she
said. "We should just see how it works for a while. I think it's premature
to say we need to change it."

Because 52 percent of Columbia voters opposed a similar ordinance in the
2003 election, Boehm said the police group did not focus its energy on
speaking out against the proposition before the 2004 election.

"I don't think they thought it would pass," he said.

CPOA President Sterling Infield could not be reached for comment.

Wickersham said any discussion of the ordinance should be focused on
scientific research.

"Science says there is no such thing as a gateway drug," she said. "We need
to review the science, stop talking about things that were initiated in the
1930s and have informed discussions about this issue."