POT LAW DRAWS QUESTIONS FROM OFFICIALS

After last week's passage of Columbia Proposition 2, which reduces
penalties for possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana, city and county
officials voiced concerns about the impact on repeat offenders.

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane said the city is now forced
to handle habitual offenders differently. Crane said first-time offenders
are already sent to city court and thus, receive a lesser penalty, while
habitual offenders are sent to state court.

"We had a written agreement that first-time offenders would go to the city
court, while repeat offenders, with a serious criminal history with charges
of possession of marijuana, would go to the state level," Crane said. "So,
the idea that students were losing their loans after one charge - that
wasn't happening. Now, people who have prior criminal histories that are
significant under Proposition 2 will not be prosecuted in state court."

Kaveh Razani, who co-authored a Missouri Students Association Senate
resolution in support of the proposition, said a major reason MSA passed
the resolution was to make sure students caught with small amounts of
marijuana would not lose their federal financial aid.

Despite Razani's intentions, Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm said the
proposition unfairly eliminates officers' discretion when dealing with drug
crimes.

"The main problem for us is that, by ordinance, it basically eliminates
officers' discretion as to whether a charge goes to city court or state
court," Boehm said. "There are not any other examples of city ordinances
that take away that discretion like this one does."

However, Razani said law enforcement will have to adjust to the change in law.

"The bottom line is that the city of Columbia has decided that getting
caught with less than 35 grams of marijuana should not require that harsh
of a punishment," Razani said.

Dan Viets, a Columbia attorney and Missouri National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws coordinator, said the proposition does not change
how first-time offenders are handled.

"It's true that this is not a major change from the existing policy," Viets
said. "But we do think that even if someone has had a prior marijuana
offense, they do not deserve to lose their loans or be kicked out of school."

Amanda Broz, president of the MU chapter of NORML, said no one should have
their financial aid revoked for a misdemeanor marijuana offense, regardless
of whether or not they are a first-time offender.

"I think our law enforcement resources should not be used to prosecute
misdemeanor marijuana charges," Broz said. "Trying to reduce drug use by
increasing penalties is not effective, and it's never been proven to be
effective ... I think if someone possesses marijuana, even two or three
times, it should still not be a high priority for police officers."

Despite speculation that the proposition would not make marijuana
possession a violation of parole, those who possess marijuana, even in
small amounts, still run the risk of having their parole revoked, Viets said.

"Every person on parole is subject to drug testing, even if they are not
prosecuted," Viets said.