VOTERS IN COLUMBIA REJECT MEASURE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

Despite the eager efforts of some college students, a measure to legalize
medicinal marijuana in Columbia failed Tuesday by a margin of 58 percent to
42 percent.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the measure, backed by a
University of Missouri-Columbia student group, failed on a vote of 10,075
to 7,348.

In another mid-Missouri election, voters in the Hallsville School District
northeast of Columbia resoundingly opposed a tax levy to fund a school
football program.

The marijuana measure, thought to be the first of its kind in Missouri or
Kansas, would have allowed seriously ill Columbia residents to use
marijuana if a doctor recommended it. It also would have significantly
reduced the penalties for being caught with less than 35 grams of the drug
within the city limits.

Most minor marijuana crimes would have been punished with municipal fines,
shielding offenders from criminal prosecution and potential jail time,
which can jeopardize a student's eligibility for federal financial aid.

Columbia officials had argued that the ordinance would increase marijuana
use and conflict with Missouri law, which makes possession of less than 35
grams a misdemeanor punishable by, at most, one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Officials also said most minor marijuana cases already were settled in
Municipal Court and that the ordinance would take away discretion from
local authorities.

Under Proposition 1, which was placed on the ballot by petition, fines for
possessing less than 35 grams would have ranged from $25 for a first
offense to $500 for a fourth or subsequent offense.

"We're obviously a long shot to pull this out," Anthony Johnson, 25, the MU
law student who wrote the measure, said Tuesday before the final tally was
announced. "But we've already had a victory...in showing that a group of
young, dedicated people can make their voices heard."

Medical marijuana use is legal in nine states and several municipalities
nationwide, but not in Missouri or Kansas.

The measure gained national attention from both sides of the marijuana
debate. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project contributed
$10,000, and the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance also pledged several
thousand dollars to the campaign, which included phone banks, advertising
and polling.

Opponents of the proposition were less organized and not as well funded.
But they scored a coup last week when an administrator with the White
House's Office of National Drug Control Policy came to Columbia to speak
out against marijuana use.

Voters in the Hallsville School District rejected a proposed one-time,
65-cent property tax levy 72 percent to 28 percent.

Opponents of the measure in the 1,200-student district decried its timing
- -- during an economic slump, when the state was withholding $61 million
from public schools to balance the current budget.

Supporters said football enjoyed widespread backing among students, and
that fan interest would help sustain the program after the initial start-up
costs, including equipment, locker rooms, bleachers and lights for the
playing field.