Pubdate: Thu, 20 Sep 2012
Source: Herald-Times, The (IN)
Copyright: 2012 The Herald-Times
Contact: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/htoletters/
Website: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1498
Author: Maureen Hayden

STEELE PUSHES TO DECRIMINALIZE POSSESSION OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF
MARIJUANA

INDIANAPOLIS -- An influential Republican lawmaker believes it's time
for Indiana to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana
and plans to include language to do so in legislation to overhaul the
state's criminal code.

State Sen. Brent Steele, who's played a critical role in criminal
justice issues as chair of the Senate corrections committee, said the
state's marijuana possession laws are too harsh. Indiana law dictates
that marijuana possession is a felony unless it's a first-time offense
and the amount is less than 1 ounce.

"We have to ask ourselves as a society, do we really want to be
locking people up for having a couple of joints in their pocket,"
Steele said. "Is that how we want to be spending our criminal justice
resources?"

At least 14 states have rolled back criminal penalties for possession
of small amounts of marijuana, and 17 states and the District of
Columbia allow the use of "medical marijuana" as pain treatment.

Steele, a conservative legislator from Bedford who is running opposed
in the November election, likened Indiana's marijuana possession laws
to "smashing an ant with a sledgehammer."

His proposal: To make possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana a
civil infraction that carries the penalty of a fine. Ten grams is
equal to about 10 single-serving sugar packets or two joints.

Steele doesn't support legalizing marijuana. He doesn't want to do
away with laws, for example, that carry tough penalties for people who
drive under the influence of marijuana. And he's convinced there are
other laws that will catch people who are drug abusers.

"We're talking about simple possession. Some kid caught with a couple
of joints in his pocket," Steele said. "Mere possession has nothing to
do with use or abuse."

Steele's support for such a change is critical, as is the timing. A
legislative study committee scheduled to meet Thursday is working on a
massive plan to overhaul Indiana's criminal code.

Those committee members are reviewing a 375-page report -- crafted at
the direction of the Legislature by a group of prosecutors, public
defenders and other attorneys -- that calls for revamping the state's
criminal laws to make punishment more proportionate to the crime. It
calls for tougher penalties for the worst sex and violent crimes, and
less prison time for low-level drug crimes.

Steele is using the report as a framework for legislation he plans to
introduce in the next session. He said lawyers at the Legislative
Services Agency, the nonpartisan, research arm of the Legislature,
have already started crafting the bill.

Andrew Cullen, legislative liaison for the Indiana Public Defender
Council and member of the committee that issued the report, thinks
Steele will find bipartisan support in the Statehouse. "No one wants
to encourage the use of drugs. But to make a low-level, recreational
drug user into a felon is ridiculous," Cullen said.

The House is expected to introduce its own version of legislation that
would overhaul the state's criminal code. State Rep. Jud McMillin, a
former prosecutor from Brookville, is expected to carry the House
version. McMillin said he hasn't seen Steele's proposal but said the
penalties for some drug crimes need to be revisited.

"We need to be spending our resources on people who need to be put
away," McMillin said.

Steele's role is seen as critical: He has been ally of Indiana
prosecutors, who aren't expected to support his push to reduce
penalties for some drug possession crimes. He's also been seen as a
"rock-ribbed, law-and-order guy," said Ed Feigenbaum, longtime
publisher of the Indiana Legislative Insight newsletter. "For him to
make this kind of concession is significant," Feigenbaum said.

Steele hinted at his position last year when, as chairman of the
Senate corrections committee, he cleared the way for a hearing on a
bill that created a study on whether Indiana should legalize
marijuana. That bill was authored by state Sen. Karen Tallian, a
liberal Democrat from Portage.

Tallian, 61, and Steele, 65, don't agree on much politically. But both
are lawyers who've seen people sent to jail or prison for possessing
small amounts of marijuana and both question whether that's the right
result.

Tallian has done polling on the issue and said there's a growing
public sentiment that Indiana's marijuana possession laws may be too
tough. "We don't need to be putting kids in jail (for possessing
marijuana) and making them into felons," Tallian said. "I think most
people will agree with that."
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MAP posted-by: Matt