Pubdate: Fri, 03 Jun 2005
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 2005 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact:  http://enquirer.com/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
Note: Limits LTEs to 100 words
Author: Gregory Korte, The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cited: David Pepper http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/pages/-4126-/ and 
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/pages/-3247-/
Cited: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws 
http://www.norml.org

PEPPER SEEKS BIGGER POT PENALTY

Says Misdemeanor Treatment Encourages Drug Markets in Cincinnati

Cincinnati City Council could vote next week on an ordinance that would 
criminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana - even a single 
joint - increasing the maximum penalty from a $100 ticket now to as much as 
60 days in jail.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana - up to 100 grams, or about 3.5 
ounces - is a minor misdemeanor under both state law and city ordinance. 
The penalty is equivalent to a civil citation: up to a $100 fine with no 
possibility of jail.

Cops call those citations "weed tickets," equivalent to jaywalking or 
spitting on the sidewalk.

"This is not about marijuana per se. It's about open-air drug markets," 
said Democrat David Pepper, who introduced the ordinance - without any 
other sponsors - at Thursday's meeting of City Council.

"Right now, you'd be better off holding the marijuana in your hand than 
throwing it on the ground - because if you throw it on the ground, that's 
littering," said Pepper, who chairs the Law & Public Safety Committee. 
Pepper, who said he has never smoked pot, plans to hold a committee hearing 
Tuesday.

Because Kentucky law allows 12 months in jail and a $500 fine for holding 
any amount of marijuana, street-level dealers come to Cincinnati's 
Over-the-Rhine to peddle their wares, Pepper said.

Pepper "is looking at crime in Cincinnati and looking at ways to affect 
it," said Capt. Paul Humphries, commander of the police department's vice 
and drug units. "I love the fact that this is coming to people's attention."

Advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana said the ordinance would 
reverse a nationwide trend toward leniency.

"People think of liberal places like California, Oregon, or New York," said 
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the 
Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C. "But I always count Ohio - the 
state itself - as having the most pragmatic and tolerant marijuana laws in 
the contiguous United States."

Those convicted of marijuana possession could be barred from certain kinds 
of employment, federal student loans, or from having unrelated criminal 
convictions expunged, St. Pierre said.

Both Pepper's council office and his mayoral campaign distributed news 
releases announcing the proposal. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake