Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2014
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2014 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Author: Jeff E. Schapiro

LENIENCY ON POT FAR FROM A NEW IDEA FOR VIRGINIA

"Although marijuana is not a harmless drug, the weight of evidence 
demonstrates that its occasional or experimental use does not pose a 
significant hazard to individual health."

"Its use ... has few demonstrated social costs - such as drug-related 
crimes, highway fatalities or health crisis - and current research 
suggests that its occasional use does not present as great a health 
hazard as the abuse or use of many other commonly available substances."

Talking points in Colorado and Washington, both of which 
decriminalized pot by referendum in 2012? Pronouncements in 21 other 
states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized marijuana in some 
form? A news release by two Northern Virginia lawmakers pushing for 
decriminalization in 2015?

No, no and no.

Those ditties are lifted from a 1975 report to the Virginia 
legislature by its investigative arm, the Joint Legislative Audit and 
Review Commission. The 365-page report argued that the General 
Assembly, then controlled by Democrats, should move toward 
decriminalization of marijuana, trimming penalties for possession and 
imposing only modest fines.

The report said, "Reduced penalties have been endorsed by such 
national organizations as the American Bar Association, the governing 
board of the American Medical Association, Commissioners on Uniform 
State Laws, American Public Health Association and the Council of 
Churches, in addition to the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse."

Needless to say, lawmakers ignored JLARC's recommendations. Despite 
occasional efforts at scaling back marijuana penalties - they were 
usually dismissed as curiosities that could end a politician's career 
- - the General Assembly and governors have usually tightened drug laws.

But the times, they are a-changin', as Bob Dylan wrote in a tune that 
many baby boomers (and their kids) likely pondered in the basement or 
in a dorm room while sharing a joint with friends. The generational 
shift that is altering the politics of pot elsewhere is taking root, 
too, in Virginia.

In March, the Quinnipiac University Poll showed that Virginians are 
almost evenly divided on legalizing marijuana for personal use: 46 
percent favored it; 48 percent were opposed.

The youngest voters, those 18 to 29, overwhelmingly supported it - 71 
percent to 26 percent. Among voters age 30 to 49, 53 percent 
supported it and 42 percent were opposed.

Support dipped corresponding with voters' ages. In the 50-to-64 age 
range, 43 percent supported it and 52 percent were opposed. The 
oldest voters, those over 65, overwhelmingly opposed it - 66 percent 
to 24 percent.

The poll underscores that this is a big deal with the voters who will 
dominate Virginia's politics. Two Democrats - Sen. Adam Ebbin of 
Alexandria and Del. Kaye Kory of Fairfax - aim to harness that by 
proposing the state make it legal to possess an ounce or less of marijuana.

Currently, possession of such an amount is a crime punishable by a 
$500 fine and 30 days in jail. The Ebbin-Kory bill would make it a 
civil offense with a maximum fine of $100. The money would go to the 
state fund that supports school construction. It's barely a slap on the wrist.

The legislation would do away with criminal penalties for 
distribution and possession with intent to distribute by creating a 
presumption under which a person who grows a maximum of six marijuana 
plants would be doing so for personal use.

Also, Virginia, if only for economic reasons, is paying less 
attention to casual use of marijuana.

The state forensics lab, as part of a larger effort to balance 
Virginia's out-of-whack budget, will no longer test pot seized in 
misdemeanor cases, unless ordered by a judge.

In 2013, according to state police, there were 24,776 arrests in 
Virginia for marijuana. Most of those charged were younger than 30, 
and a disproportionate number were African-American. The previous 
year, arrests totaled 23,402. According to the American Civil 
Liberties Union, 89 percent were for possession.

Nearly 40 years ago, here's the picture JLARC painted:

Marijuana accounted for the largest share of all drug arrests, 
exceeding 66 percent. Hallucinogens were a distant second at nearly 
8.5 percent, with narcotics third at just under 7 percent. Among 
marijuana arrests, 60 percent involved less than an ounce.

Even before the JLARC study, the General Assembly - very delicately - 
pressed cops to cut back on marijuana arrests. It was ignored. In 
1972, lawmakers passed a resolution - an expression of legislative 
sentiment that doesn't carry the weight of law - urging state and 
local police to focus on busting those selling and distributing the 
most dangerous drugs.

However, JLARC found, "state and local law enforcement have not 
followed this direction. Instead, most resources are spent on the 
apprehension of drug users and the confiscation of small amounts of marijuana."

This wasn't viewed as cost-effective law enforcement, particularly in 
an era of spiraling, budget-eroding inflation. It compelled JLARC to 
recommend an unconventional step: decriminalization of marijuana.

"Possession of marijuana has had a significant impact on the 
activities of law enforcement organizations, courts and probation," 
the report said.

"Of the total drug caseload in 1974, about half consisted of simple 
possession of marijuana violations. Although there is an 
unquestionable need to discourage the use of marijuana, it should be 
accomplished efficiently and in a manner more consistent with its 
social consequences and potential harm in relation to other drug abuse."

And here's the money quote - one that made print long, long before 
Ebbin and Kory became backbenchers in a Republican-dominated 
legislature: "Consideration should be given by the General Assembly 
to reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana 
(less than one ounce) and substitution of a citation system with a fine."

At the time, six states and the District of Columbia had taken such action.

Fast-forward to 2014: The demographic change that is elevating the 
public's tolerance for pot and the exigencies of an uncertain 
Virginia economy are combining to, at a minimum, promote a serious 
conversation about the supposedly taboo topic of decriminalization.

But it's one that, even if it falls prey to election-year politics, 
actually started four decades ago.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom