Pubdate: Wed, 11 Sep 2013
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Andrea Noble

NEW POT LAWS COULD BE CASH COW FOR THE CITY

Some Fear More Police Enforcement

The District could stand to benefit financially from 
decriminalization of marijuana, but activists are divided over 
whether police would enforce the law more harshly because the city 
has a financial incentive.

Some marijuana activists say the number of people police stop for 
having marijuana could increase if the decriminalization bill is 
passed, since it would take less time to write a ticket than to 
arrest and book someone.

"The city council bill will raise revenue for the city meaning that 
more people will be shook down by police. You can't do it halfway," 
said Adam Eidinger, who is behind an effort to put full marijuana 
legalization before D.C. voters.

But others say a fine is still a better alternative to jail time and 
that residents likely will learn to absorb financial penalties.

"We have the speed cameras and incredibly efficient parking 
enforcement and all the fines and nuisances that come with city life, 
so we are kind of used to being dinged," said Paul Zukerberg, a 
lawyer who ran for a seat on the D.C. Council this year on the 
platform of marijuana law reform. "I don't think police are going to 
really be encouraged to write tickets just because of this fine."

Under a bill with widespread support in the D.C. Council, a person 
found in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana would be issued 
a $100 fine and made to forfeit the drug. Current law makes 
possession punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

D.C. Council member Anita Bonds said she wouldn't be surprised if the 
city eventually looked to the fines as a revenue generator.

"We have a very strong reputation in the District of Columbia for 
knowing how to collect fines, so I don't doubt that it is being 
considered," the at-large Democrat said.

Sensitive to the issue, council member Tommy Wells said that's why he 
modeled the bill on legislation from Massachusetts, where the law has 
already been road-tested.

"That gave me some assurance that it will work for D.C. as well," the 
Ward 6 Democrat said.

The Massachusetts bill was passed in 2008, and the American Civil 
Liberties Union says civil fines have not been used to harass people.

"After Massachusetts decriminalized, the state did not see a rise in 
civil marijuana ticketing by police, as one might expect if financial 
incentives were driving the enforcement," said Seema Sadanandan, an 
attorney with the ACLU of the Nation's Capital. "Instead, the problem 
there has been that police have misconstrued sharing as distribution, 
and used that as a basis to continue making a significant number of 
criminal arrests."

With the ACLU lending a hand in drafting the District's bill, Ms. 
Sadanandan said language was included to avoid the that issue from the outset.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy L. Lanier has previously 
said her department has not prioritized marijuana arrests. Through a 
spokeswoman, she declined last week to comment on her thoughts about 
legalization of the drug.

An ACLU report that drew attention to the issue this summer concluded 
that law enforcement officers in the District made a total of 5,393 
marijuana-related arrests in 2010.

"If you have 6,000 arrests and the rate stays the same, you are 
talking about $600,000," Mr. Zukerberg said.

Law enforcement agencies across the country have estimated 
decriminalization reforms could save officers thousands of hours of 
work. But the financial benefits reaped from the actual civil fines 
have been mixed.

The Providence Journal reported in August that after Rhode Island 
instituted decriminalization reforms, the number of tickets written 
for pot possession in the first four months were enough to shock a 
local judge. From April through July, police had issued 851 tickets 
for marijuana possession and levied more than $110,000 in fines.

"To see this many cases, I am surprised," Traffic Tribunal Chief 
Magistrate William R. Guglietta told The Journal.

Meanwhile, a Chicago alderman's estimate that the city could collect 
$7 million a year in marijuana possession fines doesn't seem to be 
living up to the hype. A January report by the Chicago newspaper the 
RedEye states that only 380 citations were written from August 
through December 2012 - netting the city just $98,000 in fines in its 
first five months.

There isn't much available research on the effects decriminalization 
has had on states that recently adopted such reforms, said Bill 
Piper, director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. But 
citing research out of Australia, he said, "There is definitely some 
evidence that decriminalization could create a net-widening effect."

Noting the District's strong reputation for ticketing, Mr. Piper said 
there is still room to question how the policy would work in practice.

"There is definitely some concern but we still think it is a step in 
the right direction," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom