STUDENT INITIATIVE PUTS SOFTER MARIJUANA PENALTIES BEFORE COLUMBIA VOTERS

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Taking aim at hippie stereotypes, backers of a local
ballot issue that would soften penalties in marijuana cases are crafting
campaign arguments that cross and blur demographic lines.

They believe the approach -- simultaneous appeals to the seriously ill,
senior citizens, college students and baby boomers who sneak joints on
weekends -- will propel Proposition 1 into this university town's law books
on April 8.

"This isn't just about potheads," says University of Missouri law student
Anthony Lee Johnson, the proposal's author. "We think this is a winning
coalition."

Under Proposition 1:

* Medical use of marijuana would be allowed in Columbia, as it is in nine
states, but not Missouri.

* Cases involving smaller quantities of pot -- 35 grams or less -- would be
handled in city, rather than state, court. There, offenders could be
punished with misdemeanor-level fines starting at $25, but no jail time.
That could benefit college students, who risk losing federal education aid
because of state drug convictions.

It's a new approach to the old battle to decriminalize pot, said Keith
Stroup, executive director of the Washington-based National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"This is the first example I've seen where they're joined medical marijuana
with arguments about penalizing college students," Stroup said Friday. "It's
a very smart idea to combine these and let the people vote on not scarring
any of these folks with arrest records."

Johnson, 25, of Lexington, said he started crafting a hybrid marijuana
decriminalization proposal after reading an article about University of
Missouri students who lost federal education aid because they acknowledged
drug convictions.

He said a marijuana conviction at age 18 could dog someone who hasn't smoked
pot in decades if they apply for federal aid to go back to school.

"How is that a good thing, to derail someone who is a law-abiding citizen
for years from furthering their education? Yet this is what happens when
you're convicted in state court," Johnson said.

The University of Missouri said the effect of stern federal anti-drug rules
attached to student aid isn't widespread. Just one student out of the more
than 24,000 enrolled at the Columbia campus lost financial aid for that
reason during the most recent semester, said spokesman Christian Basi.

Johnson said he has heard of more than two dozen such cases in the last
couple of years, numbers Basi doesn't dispute.

Johnson and his allies spent months gathering the required 1,191 signatures
of registered voters to get the proposal before the Columbia City Council.

"The signatures came from senior citizens and students and people who have
crippling and painful conditions who could get relief from marijuana," said
Sarah Duff, a Columbia resident who circulated petitions.

The council this week decided against adopting the language on its own,
instead choosing to place the proposal on the spring ballot.

Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm strongly opposes the change, insisting
that law enforcement needs to keep its discretion about whether to prosecute
marijuana cases in city or state courts.

"That discretion is critical. For example, if it's not a first offense, that
should be dealt with in state court. What if there are additional charges
from the same incident? That should be handled by one state prosecutor,"
Boehm said.

He noted that Proposition 1 imposes a maximum $500 fine for the fourth and
subsequent offenses, but no risk of going to jail.

"Philosophically, I believe this sends the wrong message. We try to send the
message that substance abuse is not a good thing and this undermines that,"
Boehm said.

As for winking at the medical use of marijuana, Boehm and other critics say
local governments cannot enact laws that are less stringent than state law,
which has no exemption for doctor-prescribed pot.