MARIJUANA MEASURE CALLED EFFECTIVE BY SUPPORTERS AND FOES

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, 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.

Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws, said initiatives such as I-75 help police chiefs and
elected leaders focus on more-serious crimes without worrying about the
political backlash of appearing soft on pot.

"With the support of a majority of the voters, it makes it far easier for
the chief to lower the priority given to minor marijuana offenses, which
apparently has already begun to occur in Seattle," Stroup said.

Meanwhile, some Seattleites may be enjoying another benefit of I-75 -- less
paranoia.

"People no longer feel they need to close the blinds when they do a bong
hit after work," said Holden, 27, a waiter.

Dangers predicted by I-75 critics have not materialized. White House drug
czar John Walters came to Seattle last year and warned about increased pot
use among teenagers.

Carr voiced a similar concern, worrying that high-school students would
misunderstand the measure, think pot was entirely legal and smoke it in
public. But that hasn't happened, he acknowledged.

"I'm glad I was wrong," he said. "There is nothing to suggest I-75 has
caused widespread use of marijuana in Seattle."

Still, Carr isn't sure the I-75 data is as rosy as Holden suggests. The
city attorney said he couldn't draw firm conclusions from a data sample
that represents a fraction of the 15,000 total cases filed by his office
each year.

He also stressed that marijuana enforcement was already a low priority for
Seattle police before I-75 passed -- his office prosecuted 196 cases in
2000, 138 in 2001, 161 in 2002 and 144 last year.

The impact of I-75 will be better understood as more data -- including the
race of those arrested for possession -- is delivered to the city's
15-member pot panel, which is chaired by Councilman Nick Licata, and
includes Carr and representatives from the police department and the King
County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

As part of I-75's mandate, the panel must write reports in 2006 and 2007 on
the effect of the measure.

Licata agrees with Stroup that I-75 may help Seattle focus on more-serious
drug issues.

"If you adopt a minor reform and the sky doesn't fall, it opens up broader
discussions about how to deal with our drug problem, which isn't marijuana;
it's crack, meth[amphetamine] and heroin," he said.

In the meantime, Holden predicted that people will more relaxed at this
year's Hempfest and "there might be more smoking."

Carr said he didn't know how police would treat public pot smoking at
Hempfest, but he did note that marijuana possession remains a state and
federal crime.

So, when it comes to bong hits in front of a window, Carr offered this
advice: "If I was doing that, I'd close the blinds."