Pubdate: Wed, 24 Sep 2014
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Fran Spielman
Page: 16

RAHM WANTS STATE TO EASE DRUG PENALTIES

Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked state lawmakers Tuesday to soften Illinois' 
war on drugs, but the political response was lukewarm.

Emanuel wants the General Assembly to go beyond what he did in 
Chicago by decriminalizing possession of 15 grams or less of 
marijuana and reducing from a felony to a misdemeanor the penalty for 
possession 1 gram or less of any controlled substance.

"Thirteen other states already have laws on the books similar to what 
I'm proposing, and there is no higher rate of drug [use] in these 
states as a result," Emanuel said.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy added: "Studies show that locking people 
up for an ounce of narcotics does not dissuade them from using 
narcotics. It's almost an exercise in futility."

Some viewed Emanuel's plan as a political ploy to resurrect mandatory 
minimum sentences for gun crimes shot down by the Legislature's Black Caucus.

Others viewed it as yet another step toward the political left to 
undercut the progressive base of his mayoral challengers. "I don't 
know if it's political, but I'm glad he's joining a vast majority of 
us," said Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), who recently declared his 
candidacy for mayor.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis would legalize and tax marijuana.

"If you look at Colorado in the first quarter, they generated $80 
million," Lewis said.

Lewis withheld judgment on Emanuel's plan to make possession of a 
gram or less of any controlled substance a misdemeanor. It "needs 
more research," though she called the war on drugs "a complete disaster."

But at the hearing, Republican State Rep. Dennis Reboletti, a former 
narcotics prosecutor, noted that one DuPage County resident dies 
every eight days from a heroin or opiate overdose.

"One of my concerns is that, if you make it a misdemeanor for 
possession of heroin, it makes it easier for drug dealers to sell in 
smaller amounts," he said.

Two years ago, the City Council gave Chicago Police officers the 
option to issue $250 to $500 tickets to anyone caught in Chicago with 
15 grams of marijuana or less instead of arresting them.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom