BILL JUST SMOKE, LAWMAKERS SAY

Measure Targets Columbia Over Pot Laws.

JEFFERSON CITY - The Hickman-Rock Bridge football game? Move it out of town.

The MFA Oil/Break Time Shootout? Not in Columbia.

The state high school wrestling championships at the University of
Missouri-Columbia? Up in smoke.

Those events and others would become political victims under an unusual
bill filed yesterday by a state legislator irked by Columbia's new
marijuana laws. Sen. Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, introduced a measure that
would prohibit any public K-12 schools from participating in sporting
events in cities that allow medicinal marijuana or limit penalties to $250
for misdemeanor possession offenses.

In November, Columbia voters approved a pair of propositions that match
those criteria. "I think it's a bad message to send off to kids: 'Hey, come
to Columbia, you can bring your pot with you,' " Gross told The Associated
Press. He could not be reached this morning by the Tribune.

The lawmaker said his goal was to prevent regional or state tournaments
from being held in Columbia, not to prohibit Columbia schools from
participating in sports. But the bill he filed stipulates that no public
school shall participate "in any sporting event or athletic tournament"
held in a city with marijuana laws such as those in Columbia.

Besides forcing local teams to play out of town, Gross' bill also would
eliminate a major economic draw for the city. High school athletic
tournaments such as the state basketball and wrestling championships -
which in the past have been held at Hearnes Center - draw thousands of fans
from all corners of Missouri to Columbia's hotels and restaurants.

Edward Baker of Executive Hotel Management, which owns the Holiday Inn
Select Executive Center in Columbia, said the bill would be "absolutely
devastating" for the city's hospitality and retail industries.

While the financial impact on Columbia would be substantial, it seems
unlikely that Gross' bill will gain much traction.

Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia, this morning was dismissive of the bill, saying
it came from the "cave of the winds over on the Senate side."

"It's not an idea that I think anybody supports," Robb said. "You never
know why some people do what they do."

Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said the measure falls under the category of
"silly bills." "I don't really think that the" General Assembly "has any
authority or business telling the" state "activities association where they
can and can't have their tournaments," Graham said.

Attorney Dan Viets, a proponent of Columbia's new laws, said Gross' bill is
ridiculous, irrational and mean-spirited. "I think it's attempting to
punish kids throughout the state of Missouri because the city of Columbia
passed a law that Chuck Gross doesn't like," he said.

Medicinal marijuana remains illegal under state and federal law, and three
of the four law enforcement agencies that operate in Columbia have said
they will continue referring certain misdemeanor possession cases to the
prosecuting attorney, who enforces the more stringent state law.