ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR CHANGE IN MARIJUANA LAW

Possession, as the legal truism goes, is nine-tenths of the law. It is
also one-twentieth of the cost, according to a recent study.

A George Mason University analysis released this fall concluded that
marijuana possession cases account for more than 5 percent of local
law enforcement budgets. Several anti-prohibition activists trumpeted
the study this week in asking state lawmakers to reclassify the crime
to a less severe category, a change they say could save Virginia
localities millions of dollars annually.

Representatives from the advocacy group Virginians Against Drug
Violence on Wednesday asked the Virginia State Crime Commission to
designate first-time marijuana possession as a class 3 or class 4
misdemeanor. Under existing state law, the crime is an unclassified
misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and 30 days in jail.
Class 3 and class 4 misdemeanors carry fines - $500 and $250,
respectively - but no jail time.

Lennice Werth, director of the Crewe, Va.-based organization, said she
is optimistic that lawmakers will make the change, eventually.

"This year, I don't know, which is a shame because they really have a
budget crisis and a lot of it's going to fall on cities and counties,"
Werth said. "I'm really sorry that they don't take it seriously."

The State Crime Commission, a standing committee of the General
Assembly that makes recommendations on how to modify state law, is
reorganizing Virginia's criminal code.

The study, funded with a grant from the Washington-based Marijuana
Policy Project and authored by Stephen S. Fuller and Jon B. Gettman of
George Mason's School of Public Policy, concluded that the
re-classification could save local governments $44 million a year.
Jurisdictions spend that much to arrest, apprehend and prosecute
suspects in such cases, the analysis found.

"If you take the minor offenses and kind of say 'OK, we're just going
to deal with this by having people send in their money like a traffic
ticket,' then the police have time to [work on] other things, like
more serious drug crimes and terrorism," Werth said.

"Though specific figures have not been tabulated, observers say
first-time marijuana offenders rarely serve jail time. A survey of
criminal justice professionals ranked the charge the seventh-least
severe out of 288 crimes in Virginia.

"Still, the commission has no plans to include the proposed change in
the recommendations it presents to the General Assembly.

"There's no political will to reduce the penalty when it comes to any
drug crime," said Del. Brian J. Moran, D-Alexandria, a member of the
commission. "The current system requires counseling and community
service and license suspension. That seems to be an appropriate
sanction for marijuana possession."

Moran said the change would be viewed as a step toward decriminalizing
marijuana possession. Werth disagreed.

"I'm pretty conservative in a lot of ways about spending taxes and
what limited government should be," Werth said. "I think conservatives
should agree with an approach like this, but I'll grant you that many
don't."