POT RULES

THE LOWDOWN ON WASHINGTON'S MARIJUANA LAWS

Canada and the U.S. have always been miles apart on drug policy, but
moves by both governments in the last few months have illustrated more
pointedly than ever before the philosophical differences between
parochial statesiders and our neighbors to the north. Last week, the
Canadian government proposed a law that would partially decriminalize
the possession of small quantities of marijuana, ending criminal
penalties for possession of less than 15 grams. (The law also toughens
penalties for growing and trafficking.) Simultaneously, U.S.
authorities moved to tighten security at the border, cracked down on
stores that sell drug paraphernalia, got tough on cancer patients who
toke, and passed a new law making it easier for federal authorities to
fine or jail business owners who fail to prevent drug use on their
property.

In the U.S., pot use is still a serious offense. According to the Drug
Policy Alliance, a nationwide drug policy reform organization, last
year more than 720,000 people were arrested for pot-related
offenses--some 640,000 of those for simple possession. Thanks to
statewide mandatory minimums (which also apply in Seattle), the
smallest punishment for misdemeanor possession (defined as having less
than 40 grams of pot) is $250 and one day in jail, though the
punishment can go as high as $1,000 and 90 days' incarceration. Last
year, Seattle's city attorney prosecuted just 74 misdemeanor
possession cases.

Generally, the state legislature has been far more lenient with drug
felons, giving judges wide discretion to pick an appropriate
punishment. Under new sentencing guidelines passed last year,
first-time felons--those convicted of possessing more than 40 grams of
pot--can get off with no punishment at all. "The legislature has
really taken the lead on allowing discretion," says Roger Goodman,
director of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project.
"We're moving in the right direction."

Seattle's response to pot use is sadly similar to the rest of the
country's in one respect: Racial minorities are far more likely to be
targeted for marijuana arrests than are white pot smokers. Hempfest
director Dominic Holden says that of the city's approximately 150
marijuana prosecutions in 2000, "35 percent were African American."
Only about 9 percent of Seattle residents are black. "There is a
systemic disparity in the adverse effects of drug law enforcement on
minorities and the poor," Goodman says. "The disparities start on the
street, in discretion by those who intervene on the street."