SEATTLE PUTS POT AT THE BOTTOM OF ITS LAW-ENFORCEMENT LIST

Marijuana Initiative Doesn't Affect Rules for Sellers, Minors

SEATTLE (KRT) -- Seattleites aren't going to pot -- or jail -- since voters
passed I-75, the initiative that made marijuana the city's lowest
law-enforcement priority.

The number of people prosecuted for pot possession has plummeted, and
despite predictions of naysayers, there is no evidence of widespread public
pot consumption as a result of the measure, which voters approved last year.

To Dominic Holden, a spokesman for the I-75 campaign, that means Hempfest
this weekend will likely be more fragrant than last year, as attendees at
the annual pro-pot event will have yet another reason to whoop it up -- and
light up.

Approved by 58 percent of Seattle voters in last September's election, I-75
relaxes enforcement against adults possessing 40 grams or less of pot for
personal use. The measure did not change city policies toward sellers or
minors.

The initiative appears to be working as intended, according to Holden and
City Attorney Tom Carr, an outspoken opponent of I-75.

Statistics for the first six months of 2004 show that the city has
prosecuted just 18 cases of marijuana possession compared with roughly 70
during the same time period last year.

"The early indication is that I-75 has been highly effective. That seems
the only way you could explain the drastic reduction in cases," said
Holden, a member of the city-sanctioned Marijuana Policy Review Panel
created by the initiative.

Carr agreed. "I think police received the message that they are not
supposed to emphasize enforcement," he said.

In the state of Washington, possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana is
a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The success of I-75 has put Seattle on the cutting edge of national
marijuana-policy reform, Holden added. Activists in other cities such as
Oakland, Calif.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Columbia, Mo., are preparing
similar measures, and advocates in Seattle are talking about the
possibility of liberalizing marijuana-possession laws on a statewide level.