AREA POLICE USE LOCAL LAWS IN MARIJUANA CASES

As Chicago mulls over a plan to ticket people caught with small
amounts of marijuana, most North Shore police agencies say they have
been doing that for nearly 25 years as an alternative to arrests which
are often thrown out of state court.

Chicago's proposal drew headlines in recent weeks as Mayor Richard
Daley - a former prosecutor - gave his tentative blessing to a plan
attributed to a police sergeant.

"Wilmette has had this ordinance on the books since August of 1978,
and we were not a pioneer in this," said George Carpenter, Wilmette
police chief.

Officers have the option of charging offenders under village ordinance
for possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana, and the ticket
carries a fine of $100.

Tickets can be contested in court, but the standard of proof is lower
than in criminal cases, and most people opt to pay the fine.

In contrast, traditional criminal arrests requires more time in making
an arrest and paperwork and one or more court appearances which are
usually paid as overtime for off-duty officers.

In a court system where prosecutors and lab technicians are busy with
more serious matters, the charges for smaller amounts are often thrown
out.

"That ordinance has served the village of Wilmette very well
throughout all of these years, and it doesn't decriminalize
marijuana," Carpenter said. "It's a more sensible and practical
approach to minor violations."

Kenilworth has a similar local law, and the tickets accounted for 80
to 90 percent of the 20 drug cases handled in the village last year,
said Police Chief John Petersen.

"It's generally up to the officers discretion as to whether it will be
a state charge or not. There would be a lot of factors involved.
Usually It's the amount, but occasionally it could deal with the prior
record of the individual," Petersen said.

Winnetka also has an ordinance which dates back to 1978. Marijuana use
was hitting a peak at that time and police found themselves dealing
with people who otherwise had no criminal involvement.

"In the 1970s and 1980s we were making a lot of drug arrests," said
Eric Bennett, Winnetka deputy police chief. "Working an evening shift,
when you'd go out, it wasn't if you were going to make a drug arrest,
it was how much you were going to find.

"It overloaded the court," he added. "If it went to misdemeanor court
the judges weren't putting anybody in jail anyway. It was just a fine
and maybe supervision and we can do that under an ordinance violation."

In Glencoe, virtually all minor possession cases are handled through
local charges, said Mikel Milks, director of public safety.

That included nine cases in 2003 and 11 through August this
year.

"If it's under 10 grams, it's always handled that way unless there are
some aggravating factors or history of past arrest," Milks said.

One perception which sometimes follows officer discretion holds that
local residents are more likely to get a fine while others get a state
charge, but Milks said that isn't the case in Glencoe.

Officers in Glencoe and most nearby communities are happy to use
tickets where appropriate because it is much less time-consuming than
arrests, which can take hours between paperwork, photographing,
fingerprinting and bond arrangements.

Northfield does not have a local ordinance option for enforcement,
though it is considering a plan to use tickets for the smallest
amounts - 2.5 grams or less.

Deputy Police Chief Claude Castelleto said charging people with
misdemeanors for marijuana possession, where those charged must appear
before a judge and may get assigned to drug school, is more likely to
teach offenders to steer clear of drugs.

If the ordinance were adopted, those who got pinched would still need
to appear before a judge, Castelleto said. The agency is studying the
issue on the request of area school officials and other advocates.

"We're not interested in the money portion of it," he said. "I think
our philosophy is the education and prevention."

Although police prefer to view the ticket alternative as smart
enforcement rather than liberalization, advocates of decriminalization
see it as a step in the right direction. In the "zero tolerance"
atmosphere of the past 20 years, most politicians and law enforcement
officials would not publicly endorse anything that sounded like a
retreat in the war on drugs, said Bryan Brickner, chairman of the
Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

"It is kind of a turning point. The conversation is a little
different, and we're happy about that. For us the key thing is once we
start not putting people in the criminal justice system, that's a step
in the right direction."

"We want the police going after what we call the index crimes, theft
and burglary and criminal sexual assault and all those. The ones
against people and property."

Brickner said he did have concerns that Chicago's plan appears to be
focused on generating revenues and that high fines - $250 to $1,000,
would fall disproportionately on poor and minority residents.