OAKLAND'S MEASURE Z WOULD EASE POT LAWS

OAKLAND -- After San Franciscans legalized medical marijuana in 1991,
voters statewide followed suit five years later.

Backers of Measure Z, the Oakland Cannabis Initiative, hope it will have
the same effect.

The measure would put Oakland at the forefront of efforts to decriminalize
adult, recreational pot use statewide.

It makes private adult marijuana offenses, including possession, sales and
cultivation of the herb, the lowest priority for Oakland police. It also
directs the city to set up a system of taxation and regulation as soon as
state law allows it -- which is largely symbolic and, according to the city
attorney's office, unconstitutional for technical reasons.

Supporters say it will free law enforcement resources to combat more
serious crimes, give marijuana patients and their caregivers additional
protection, take marijuana out of the hands of violent drug dealers, and
eventually, when and if state law changes, fatten the city's budget with
new sales tax revenues.

Most people believe the war on drugs has been a failure, said Judy Appel,
legal director for the Drug Policy Alliance Network, a national group with
offices in Oakland.

"Where do we want our enforcement dollars spent -- on violent crimes or
adult marijuana charges," she said.

A September poll commissioned by the group pushing the measure found 65
percent of a group of 400 likely voters supported it. The poll, by the
respected San Francisco firm David Binder Research, also found 70 percent
of those surveyed supported legalization of pot.

But opponents say the measure is about more than adults taking a few bong
hits in the privacy of their homes. They worry its broad language would
turn Oakland, already beleaguered by a thriving drug trade that draws
customers from the suburbs, into a statewide center for the profitable
business.

They say police already are spending few resources chasing marijuana users
and have developed a good relationship with the medical marijuana
community. The measure could jeopardize marijuana patients by attracting
federal agents, who consider all pot use illegal, they argue.

"Whether or not you believe pot should be decriminalized, making one city
the hub of sales, cultivation and distribution doesn't make sense," said
Councilmember Danny Wan. "I could personally care less about people smoking
in their own homes, and I might even support a statewide law. But this is
about the industry of marijuana growing, and many people selling drugs
aren't going to just have one kind."

Although it doesn't cover underage users or allow street sales, opponents
say the measure would make them harder to control.

"I don't know how you can contain it in that way," said Fran Matarrese, a
community activist in the Fruitvale district. "I've seen so many kids in
the neighborhood get involved in drugs and get in deeper and deeper."

Joe DeVries, former chief of staff to Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley
and the main author of the measure, said Wan's fears are unfounded. He says
an advisory panel of citizens and law enforcement set up after the measure
passes will draft reasonable policies to implement it. Large-scale
commercial sales wouldn't be covered, he said.

"I think it's silly to suggest every drug dealer in the country would move
to Oakland," said DeVries, campaign manager for the Oakland Civil Liberties
Alliance. "We'll come up with a sensible way to implement it."

DeVries said he left the measure deliberately broad so as not to tie the
council's hands in implementing it.

He and Richard Lee, a medical marijuana advocate and owner of the SR71 and
now-defunct Bulldog cannabis cafes, came up with the idea, which is why
they are using Oakland as the test case. The idea is that it's far less
costly to do a local measure than a statewide initiative, and the
expectation is it will have a snowball effect. DeVries said he has already
received calls from around the state.

Measure Z is inspired by a measure passed by Seattle voters last year.

It made adult personal marijuana use the lowest law enforcement priority,
and, contrary to the fears of opponents, has not led to an influx of
dealers or heavier use by minors, according to news reports.

But Measure Z is broader, since it applies to all adult offenses, including
cultivation, distribution and sales, and not just use.

Wan and Councilmembers Larry Reid and Ignacio De La Fuente oppose the
measure, along with Mayor Jerry Brown, the Chamber of Commerce leadership
and several prominent community leaders, such as Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts
Full Gospel Church.

Councilmembers Desley Brooks and Nancy Nadel, along with state Sen. Don
Perata, D-Oakland, and Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith
Carson, support it, as do some community leaders and national drug reform
groups.

"I think this reflects what the vast majority of residents want to see
happen," Brooks said. "I think [Wan] is spreading the politics of fear, and
I don't think you can jump to the conclusion this will lead to more dealers
coming into the city."

Both sides use police statistics to bolster their cases. According to
Oakland police, there were 564 marijuana-related arrests in the city during
2003. That's about 13 percent of the 4,267 total drug arrests.

Of those, 138 were for possession, a misdemeanor charge that carries a
fine. The rest were for possession with intent to sell or marijuana sales,
both felonies. There were just five arrests for cultivation.

In 2002, about 17 percent of the 5,550 drug arrests were for marijuana
offenses. And in the first six months of 2004, 89 people were busted for
pot possession, and 326 for sales or intent to sell.

Many of the sales arrests occurred during buy-bust stings on the street,
and few were in private homes -- unless police were there for another
reason, authorities said.

"I don't think this is something the city needs," said Police Chief Richard
Word."We've been very compassionate with medical marijuana. We spend our
time responding to community complaints about drug sales. They don't know
which drugs are being sold. They just see a lot of traffic into a house or
corner. It's often more than one drug."

In California, possession of less than an ounce of cannabis carries a fine
up to $100, and more than an ounce carries a fine of up to $500 -- unless
the offender is on parole or probation, in which case they could be sent to
jail or a drug diversion program.

If prosecutors pursue a charge of possession with intent to sell -- which
must be backed up with evidence of packaging or observation of transactions
taking place -- it's a felony leading to jail time.

It's those types of offenses that concern DeVries. Marijuana users or even
medical growers caught up in such a charge must spend money defending
themselves, and the government spends money prosecuting and incarcerating them.

DeVries cites justice department statistics showing 5,663 marijuana arrests
in the city between 1999 and 2000, which he says is not an insignificant
number.

"We want to take marijuana out of the hands of street dealers, which is
where the violence occurs, and ultimately tax and regulate it," he said.

National funders have stepped up, most notably the Washington, D.C-based
Marijuana Policy Project, which contributed $80,000. Through September, the
Measure Z campaign had raised $154,500, and spent $110,000.

Other large donors include local businessman George Zimmer, chief executive
of the Mens Warehouse, who gave $15,000; the state branch of the National
Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws [NORML], which gave $3,300; and
Richard Lee, who gave $5,250.

The city attorney's office has pointed out that two portions of the measure
are unconstitutional, because they don't directly create or change laws --
a requirement for initiatives. Those provisions are for the city to
license, tax and regulate marijuana sales if state law changes, and for the
city to lobby the state for those changes.