COMMITTEE KILLS MARIJUANA TICKET BILL

A House committee killed a proposal Tuesday that would have allowed
law enforcement officials to write a ticket for people possessing
small amounts of marijuana.

Rep. Larry Ferguson, R-Cleveland, said the bill was a request from the
Department of Public Safety that would allow state troopers or police
officers to write a ticket for persons possessing less than an ounce
of marijuana. The offender would have to sign a written notice
promising to appear for arraignment.

"If they make one of these arrests, it just about uses up their day,"
said Ferguson. "This bill would allow the troopers to stay in the
field for much more of the day than what they do now."

But opponents said support of the bill could be interpreted by their
constituents as being soft on crime.

"I know clearly where we're headed with the bill, but I also
understand politics," said Rep. Jim Newport, R-Ponca City. "As soon as
the highway patrol campaigns as aggressively for this bill out in my
community, the same way I have to campaign when it's perceived by my
opponent that I'm soft on crime, then I will vote for the bill."

Capt. Van Guillotte, legislative liaison for the DPS, said making an
arrest for simple possession of marijuana often takes up to two or
three hours for an officer to transport the person and book him or her
into jail.

"In some cases, the evidence, the marijuana, is just thrown on the
side of the road and destroyed, and the person is given a verbal
warning and allowed to go on," Guillotte said.

Allowing troopers or police officers to simply write a ticket would
create a record of someone's violation of the law, and could actually
result in more people being prosecuted for marijuana possession,
Guillotte said.

"Right now, if the oral warning is given and the product is thrown on
the side of the road, nothing is recorded," he said. "This bill never
changed the penalties, it only changes the method."

The House Criminal Justice Committee voted 4-2 against the bill,
effectively killing it for the session.