PROPOSAL TO EASE MARIJUANA PENALTIES TO BE ON COLUMBIA BALLOT

Ready for a shocker from College Town, U.S.A.? A University of
Missouri-Columbia student group wants the city to relax penalties for
possessing small amounts of marijuana.

But before you roll your eyes, take note: Columbia's recurrent pro-pot
movement this week made its biggest stride in decades, securing space for a
proposed marijuana ordinance on the city's April 8 ballot.

The measure -- thought to be the first of its kind in Missouri or Kansas --
would allow seriously ill residents to use marijuana if a doctor
recommended it and would significantly reduce the punishment for possession
of less than 35 grams of the drug.

Best of all, backers say, is that most minor marijuana cases would be
disposed of with fines in municipal court, shielding students from criminal
prosecution that could jeopardize their education.

"The current law punishes people too harshly for minor marijuana offenses,"
said Anthony Johnson, a 25-year-old MU law student who wrote the ordinance.
"We also want to send a message that seriously ill patients shouldn't be
denied medicine that doctors recommend."

Some Columbia officials expressed doubt that the measure would pass. For
one thing, its staunchest supporters -- college students and
twenty-somethings -- are usually the least likely to vote.

For another, said Police Chief Randy Boehm, the m-word carries a serious
stigma, even in a college town.

"I've heard from a number of people in the community that have concerns
about the proposal, particularly parents," said Boehm, who is against the
ordinance. "As this is discussed in the community more, I do anticipate
there will be a great deal of opposition."

Still, the students behind the ordinance see it as the best opportunity in
more than 20 years to soften Columbia's marijuana laws.

After years of abortive efforts, a petition circulated last fall by
Johnson's group, the Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, obtained
2,552 signatures -- twice as many as needed to put the issue before the
City Council.

On Tuesday night, by a 6-1 vote, the council declined to approve the
ordinance outright, meaning it will go to a public vote.

Columbia's current marijuana ordinance mirrors a state statute making
possession of less than 35 grams a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by at
most one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The proposed ordinance would punish anyone caught with less than 35 grams
with only municipal fines: at most $25 for a first offense, $50 for a
second offense, $100 for a third offense and $500 for a fourth or
subsequent offense.

The city prosecutor, in most cases, could not send the offender to a county
court or file charges under the stiffer state law.

Such a sharp rollback in penalties could promote marijuana use, said Kim
Dude, director of MU's Wellness Resource Center, who said she opposed any
weakening of drug laws.

"Unless there are consequences to behavior, and unless the consequence is
significant enough, then it will not serve as a deterrent," Dude said. "A
$25 fine will in no way serve as a deterrent."

The student group's main argument stems from a provision of the 1998
federal Higher Education Act, under which students convicted of possessing
or selling illegal drugs can lose their eligibility for federal financial aid.

A student convicted once can lose aid for a year. Two convictions means two
years. A third time, and the student is ineligible indefinitely.

No such aid prohibitions exist for violent crimes, including rape and
murder, said Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. In the last two years, 91,000 students
nationwide have lost aid because of drug convictions, he said.

Johnson said he knew of 27 MU undergraduates who had been so penalized.

Not surprisingly, such figures have currency with students.

"One simple mistake -- if you get caught -- is all it takes to have your
federal aid stripped away," said Nick Choate, editor in chief of The
Maneater, MU's student newspaper, whose editorial board has endorsed the
ordinance.

"The ordinance would make the punishment more fitting to the crime," Choate
said.

Boehm, the police chief, said that local authorities had an understanding
that most minor marijuana cases stay in municipal court -- unless the
offender faces other charges or has had previous arrests.

"I think the system is working well as it is," Boehm said. "I would be
opposed to any type of proposal that took away discretion from law
enforcement and the prosecutors."

Boehm said he expected that supporters of the proposed ordinance would
paint occasional marijuana use as a paltry offense compared with other
crimes. But in 26 years with the department, he said, he has seen many pot
smokers who used more serious drugs or went on to commit worse crimes.

"I'm not going to suggest that an individual cannot be a casual user of
marijuana and, in some cases, not cause any other problems in the
community," he said. "It certainly is possible.

"But on the other hand, we've seen it lead to other things."