Pubdate: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 Source: Dominion Post, The (Morgantown, WV) Copyright: 2004 The Dominion Post Contact: http://www.dominionpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1426 Cited: Seattle Hempfest http://www.hempfest.org/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Seattle+Hempfest SEATTLE PUTS POT AT THE BOTTOM OF ITS LAW-ENFORCEMENT LIST Marijuana Initiative Doesn't Affect Rules for Sellers, Minors SEATTLE (KRT) -- Seattleites aren't going to pot -- or jail -- since voters passed I-75, the initiative that made marijuana the city's lowest law-enforcement priority. The number of people prosecuted for pot possession has plummeted, and despite predictions of naysayers, there is no evidence of widespread public pot consumption as a result of the measure, which voters approved last year. To Dominic Holden, a spokesman for the I-75 campaign, that means Hempfest this weekend will likely be more fragrant than last year, as attendees at the annual pro-pot event will have yet another reason to whoop it up -- and light up. Approved by 58 percent of Seattle voters in last September's election, I-75 relaxes enforcement against adults possessing 40 grams or less of pot for personal use. The measure did not change city policies toward sellers or minors. The initiative appears to be working as intended, according to Holden and City Attorney Tom Carr, an outspoken opponent of I-75. Statistics for the first six months of 2004 show that the city has prosecuted just 18 cases of marijuana possession compared with roughly 70 during the same time period last year. "The early indication is that I-75 has been highly effective. That seems the only way you could explain the drastic reduction in cases," said Holden, a member of the city-sanctioned Marijuana Policy Review Panel created by the initiative. Carr agreed. "I think police received the message that they are not supposed to emphasize enforcement," he said. In the state of Washington, possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. The success of I-75 has put Seattle on the cutting edge of national marijuana-policy reform, Holden added. Activists in other cities such as Oakland, Calif.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Columbia, Mo., are preparing similar measures, and advocates in Seattle are talking about the possibility of liberalizing marijuana-possession laws on a statewide level. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake