Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jan 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold
Page: 1B

CASE FILINGS FALL IN STATE

The Drastic Decline in Charges May Have Been Expected After Colorado
Voters Legalized Pot Use.

Charges for all manner of marijuana crimes plummeted in the months
after Colorado voters legalized limited possession of cannabis for
people over 21.

According to a Denver Post analysis of data provided by the Colorado
Judicial Branch, the number of cases filed in state court alleging at
least one marijuana offense plunged 77 percent between 2012 and 2013.
The decline is most notable for charges of petty marijuana possession,
which dropped from an average of 714 per month during the first nine
months of 2012 to 133 per month during the same period in 2013- a
decline of 81 percent.

That may have been expected - after all, people over 21 can now
legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana. But The Post's analysis
shows state prosecutors also pursued far fewer cases for marijuana
crimes that remain illegal in Colorado.

For instance, charges for possessing more than 12 ounces of marijuana
dropped by 73 percent, and cases alleging possession with intent to
distribute fewer than 5 pounds of marijuana dipped by 70 percent. Even
charges for public consumption of marijuana fell statewide, by 17
percent, although Denver police have increased their number of
citations issued for public consumption.

While marijuana prosecutions against people over 21 declined, so did
prosecutions against people under 21, for whom all marijuana
possession remains illegal except for medical marijuana patients.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he thinks the drop in
cases may be due to police not wanting to parse the complexities of
the state's marijuana law.

"I think they've kind of thrown their arms up in the air," he
said.

Marijuana advocates, meanwhile, praised the drop in prosecutions-even
for things that remain illegal under state law-because it lessens
what they say is the racially biased impact of marijuana enforcement.
A report last year from the American Civil Liberties Union found that
blacks in Colorado were arrested for marijuana crimes at a rate nearly
double that of whites. Overall, the report found arrests for marijuana
possession in 2010 made up more than 60 percent of all drug-offense
arrests.

"We're talking about not only saving the state time and money," said
Art Way, a policy manager in Colorado for the Drug Policy Alliance, a
supporter of legalization, "but we're no longer criminalizing
primarily young adults, black and brown males primarily, with the
collateral consequences of a drug charge."

The Post's analysis is not a comprehensive look at marijuana
prosecutions in Colorado because prosecutors can also file cases in
municipal courts, which aren't tracked by the data provided.

Even though Colorado voters partially legalized marijuana for adults
in 2012, there are still numerous marijuana crimes on the books.
Possession of more than an ounce, cultivation of more than six plants
and sales without a special state license all remain illegal and can
be punished.

But Tom Raynes, the executive director of the Colorado District
Attorneys Council, said the state's new marijuana laws are likely
making it tougher for police to crack down on the remaining marijuana
crimes. Because some marijuana possession and use is now legal, Raynes
said that means police are no longer allowed to investigate in depth
purely because they smell pot.

"Just because your car smells like marijuana doesn't give an officer
enough probable cause to initiate an arrest or a search," Raynes said.

The Post's analysis shows that prosecutors rarely charged small-scale
marijuana crimes on their own, anyway. For instance, of the 637
charges for petty possession of fewer than 2 ounces of marijuana filed
in September 2012, only 13 percent- 80- came in cases where the
possession charge was the only charge. One year later, 10 of the 51
charges for possession of fewer than 2 ounces were single-charge cases.

Perhaps for that reason, there is no evidence so far that Colorado's
new laws on marijuana have resulted in a dramatic reduction in
caseloads for prosecutors or police. Denver police, for instance,
recorded only 3 percent fewer arrests for any crime in the first 11
months of 2013when compared with the first 11months of 2012.

What also appears relatively unchanged is the treatment of petty
marijuana-possession charges: It is far more likely that those charges
will be dismissed by either a judge or a prosecutor than it is the
charges will result in a finding of guilty for the defendant,
according to the data.

For the charges filed in September 2012, 79 percent were ultimately
dismissed. In September 2013, it was 84 percent.

But Raynes said those similarities belie the uncertainty police and
prosecutors now feel when approaching marijuana cases.

"With small quantities especially," he said, "I think law enforcement
feels like they don't know which way to turn."
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MAP posted-by: Matt