BILL COULD REDUCE PUNISHMENT FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION

The penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana could be
reduced if a bill in the Texas House of Representatives is passed.

House Bill 758, introduced in January by State Rep. Harold Dutton,
D-Houston, is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Criminal
Jurisprudence. The bill would reclassify possession of up to one ounce
of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor.

Class C misdemeanor offenders do not receive jail time for a first
offense, and instead would only be required to pay a fine.

The current law states possession of up to two ounces is considered a
Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a
maximum fine of $2,000.

"I feel the (current) penalty exceeds the crime," said Giancarlo
Pearson, head of the Texas State chapter of the National Organization
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Pearson, Spanish senior, said he believes the bill could reduce the
number of inmates in Texas' over-crowded prisons.

"I think it would reduce unnecessary incarceration in county jails,"
he said.

According to statistics released by the FBI in September 2006,
approximately 88.5 percent of the nearly 800,000 marijuana related
arrests in 2005 were for possession only.

Officer Otto Glenewinkel of the University Police Department said
arrests for marijuana on campus are common.

"We see (marijuana violations) almost daily," Glenewinkel
said.

He estimated as much as 75 percent of individuals arrested for
marijuana violations at Texas State are in possession of an ounce or
less.

He said it would be impossible for UPD officers to completely control
marijuana use at Texas State.

"We can't devote 100 percent of our officers' time to drug
violations," Glenewinkel said.

He predicted the passage of a bill reducing the penalty for minor
marijuana offenses would not significantly increase the amount of
marijuana use in Texas. He said he believes many are more concerned
with the idea of breaking the law than with the actual penalties.

"You have people who use marijuana and people who don't," Glenewinkel
said.

Despite this, he said he did not support the bill.

"I can't say what the ramifications would be - an ounce of marijuana
can be quite a bit," Glenewinkel said. "(Legislators) don't know what
they're getting themselves into."

He said an offender of a Class C misdemeanor - such as those found in
possession of an ounce or less of marijuana under the proposed bill -
is issued a citation and forced to sign a statement promising to
appear in court.

This would be similar to what occurs with traffic violations
now.

Glenewinkel said depending on the way the proposed law is worded, an
officer would have the option of making an arrest, but this would not
be mandatory. In most circumstances, the citation itself would be
recognized as an arrest.

John Yum, communication design sophomore, recently had a friend
arrested for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

"I think (the current laws) are too harsh," Yum said. "Texas should
follow the lead of other states that have decriminalized marijuana."

He said he did not believe a change in marijuana laws reducing the
penalty of small amounts would affect usage on campus.

"I don't think it would change that much - you could still get fined,"
Yum said.