Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jun 2015 Source: Journal Standard, The (Freeport, IL) Copyright: 2015 GateHouse Media, Inc. Contact: http://www.journalstandard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3182 Authors:Dean Olsen, Georgette Braun and Matt Buedel, GateHouse Media Illinois Pubdate: 27 Jun 15 Debate swirls around weather to decriminalize marijuana DEBATE SWIRLS AROUND BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA IN ILLINOIS If Mike Bonds had avoided misdemeanor convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana more than 15 years ago, he believes he might have been able to enlist in the U.S. Navy. The trajectory of his life - which includes a 2000 felony conviction in Piatt County for marijuana possession - might have been altered, said Bonds, who now operates a gutter installation business. That's why Bonds, 36, who lives in rural Mansfield, about 65 miles northeast of Springfield, supports a bill on Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk that would decriminalize possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis. "Using marijuana is not going to ruin your life, but if you get arrested for it, it will," Bonds said. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who smoke it." House Bill 218 would add Illinois to the list of about 20 states that have removed the threat of jail time for such an offense. The bill also would establish a higher threshold for determining whether someone should be charged with driving under the influence of marijuana. Opponents say the bill would lead to more use of cannabis, more impaired driving and more addiction. They say the bill would move Illinois closer to legalization of recreational use of marijuana, a step already taken by Colorado and Washington state. But supporters of the legislation disagree, saying it would free thousands of Illinoisans - a disproportionate number of them black - from misdemeanor convictions that can follow them for years and prevent them from landing jobs, gaining admission to college and other organizations, and securing student loans and housing. "We're trying to be smart on the enforcement of crime," said state Sen. Michael Noland, D-Elgin. "We've taken a measured approach. I don't want to encourage the use of something that has negative health consequences." House Bill 218, passed mostly by Democrats and a few Republicans in the General Assembly, reflects the growing public acceptance of marijuana in a state where medical marijuana is legal but not yet available. Aides to the Republican governor won't say how Rauner feels about the legislation, which makes possession of up to between 15 and 30 joints a violation similar to a speeding ticket with a fine of up to $125. Violators, whether they are juveniles or adults, would have the tickets automatically expunged about six months after any fines are paid. Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, the bill's House sponsor, hopes Rauner will view the legislation as a step toward his goal of reforming the state's criminal justice system. Impact and costs Under current law, possession of up to 2.5 grams is a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,500. Possession of 2.5 to 10 grams is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $1,500 or both. Possession of 10 to 30 grams is a class 4 felony punishable by up to one year in jail or a $1,500 fine or both. Flaws in previous studies on the impact of decriminalization make it difficult to gauge the impact on crime rates, impaired driving and even on marijuana use or addiction, said Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-director of the Rand Corp.'s drug policy research center. "Everyone thinks the answer is so easy," she said. Reduced penalties for cannabis possession appear to coincide with slightly higher rates of marijuana use, but an increase in use could be related to greater social acceptance, Pacula said. Medical marijuana programs have comparatively more of an impact on increased use by the general population as guidelines for entry into those programs have loosened, she said. But Illinois officials have said the pilot program here will be the most tightly regulated in the nation. What's undisputed in the research, Pacula said, is that decriminalization reduces costs associated with the criminal justice system. Arrests and court-related costs associated with marijuana possession in Illinois are estimated to be between $78 million and $364 million per year, according to the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University. About 40,000 people are arrested for marijuana possession in the state each year, according to the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. Even though less than 10 percent of those arrested end up convicted, the current system creates costs that would be saved under the bill, council executive director Kathryn Saltmarsh said. The council, a unit of state government, estimates that the provisions in House Bill 218 would have saved more than $13 million over a three-year period - 2011 through 2013. Most of the savings is connected with the bill's reductions in misdemeanor and felony penalties for possession of more than 15 grams but less than 500 grams. The savings, the council estimates, would have included $1.5 million over the three years for state prisons, $3.5 million for county jails and $8.4 million in probation-related costs. The savings projections take into account additional societal costs of $235,400 that would be incurred by people ticketed for marijuana possession who would commit other crimes if not in jail or prison. It's unclear whether money saved would be redirected to programs that could reduce crime and offset the societal costs, Saltmarsh said. The Illinois Department of Corrections gives a more ambitious estimate of savings associated with legislation: $21.2 million in prison operating costs and $3.4 million in construction costs over a 10-year period. Tough to tally It's difficult to quantify potential cost savings to law enforcement. Competing regulations codified in state statutes and municipal ordinances make for complicated calculations. Villages such as Bartonville, a bedroom community barely south of Peoria, relegated small-scale pot possession to a civil violation years ago, although officers there retain discretion as to whether suspects face citations or arrest. But Bartonville's ordinance surpasses the limits of fines and contraband quantity established in the pending state rules. Under the village guidelines, possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana results in fines ranging from $500 to $750 with totals escalating as possession amounts increase. The state proposal slashes the fine to a single amount - $125 for possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana. Municipalities with ordinances that vary from the state's verbiage must modify local regulations in order to collect that fine. Other hypothetical savings that could result from decriminalization include reduced incarceration costs for low-level non-violent drug offenders and dedication of fewer court resources to process and prosecute what typically amount to misdemeanor cases. The reality in Peoria County, however, may not reflect that theory. Sheriff Mike McCoy said arrests for misdemeanor marijuana alone represent an insignificant number of detainees processed into the Peoria County Jail on any given day. Low-level pot charges are often accompanied by more serious infractions, and the marijuana charges tend to be dismissed as part of plea deals on more serious charges or are entirely withdrawn while allegations of other concurrent crimes receive more serious treatment in the courtroom. "We don't make enough marijuana arrests for it to have a significant impact on the jail," McCoy said. But the law would give deputies a new avenue of discretion. Officers would no longer have to field test the plant material, package it for further forensic analysis at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab in Morton and wait weeks or months for results before taking the case to court. Unincorporated Peoria County does not have a local marijuana possession ordinance, leaving deputies with only the cumbersome testing and documentation process in order to effectively pursue charges and conviction. The state law would streamline that process and adjudicate cases according to civil court standards with lower burdens of proof. "It would give the guys a lot of latitude," McCoy said. "Being consistent statewide would be huge for law enforcement - we would all know the rules." Step toward legalization? Some local law-enforcement officials are skeptical of the various savings estimates and worry about the bill's other potential ramifications. In Winnebago County, where 971 people were arrested for marijuana possession in 2014, sheriff's Chief Deputy Mark Karner said, "I don't see casual marijuana users being incarcerated for any amount of time." Making possession of up to 15 grams a ticketed offense would be "a little shortsighted," he said. "Casual use of marijuana is damaging .. physically and psychologically." He said today's marijuana strains are "10 to 15 times stronger" than what was widely used 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Joe Bruscato, the Winnebago County state's attorney, added: "When you take away the incarceration piece, you could reduce the deterrent effect. It could encourage people to be bold because they'd receive a fine only." Bruscato opposes decriminalization. "I don't think we have thought out the ramifications," he said, including "how it would affect people's ability to function on the job." Sangamon County Sheriff Wes Barr opposes the bill, saying it "sends a wrong message" and would be a first step toward legalizing marijuana without saving much money. Despite critics who dispute his assertion, Barr said marijuana is a "gateway drug" to other types of substance abuse. "These minor offenses do take a lot of court time that could be better spent," said Derrick Schmidt, assistant public defender for Winnebago County. He said the focus for police and prosecutors has "shifted to harder drugs." Decriminalizing marijuana possession "leaves police to better prioritize their time," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser supports the decision of the Illinois State's Attorneys Association to back the bill. But he is concerned that decriminalization may lead to an increase in use and an increase in impaired driving. Some people in need of addiction treatment who, in the past, would have been ordered to seek treatment by a court may not get it if simple possession is no longer at least a misdemeanor offense, said Amy Ronshausen, deputy director of the Drug Free America Foundation. On the other hand, more people may end up in treatment right away if they could avoid spending time in jail or prison, said Eric Foster, vice president for substance abuse policy at the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association. Addicts could benefit if any money saved through the legislation was re-routed to treatment programs, he said, adding that the association took no position on the bill. Springfield-based Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems sees nothing positive in the legislation. "People will use and abuse more marijuana," executive director Anita Bedell said. The bill wasn't designed as a step toward legalization, Noland said, but added, "The war on drugs is, by and large, a failure." Unlike criminal offenses, the bill's proposed civil violation for possession of less than 15 grams wouldn't result in increased penalties for successive violations. Noland is open to tweaking the legislation if Rauner signs it and local officials find people abusing the system by getting multiple tickets. Discretion, disparity More than 100 Illinois municipalities - including Springfield and Chicago - have given local police officers discretion about whether to make a misdemeanor or felony arrest for simple possession or issue a non-criminal ordinance violation. Springfield police issued 319 ordinance-violation tickets and made 75 arrests for possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana in 2014, deputy chief Dan Mounce said. Rockford police made 453 marijuana-related arrests in 2014 but could not break down how many of them were for possession of small amounts of the drug. But this patchwork system is "not particularly consistent or fair," says Kathleen Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy. A 2014 report from the consortium found that blacks were disproportionately represented among those receiving marijuana tickets and being arrested for cannabis possession in many Illinois communities. And blacks were more likely than whites in many communities to be arrested rather than ticketed. In fact, African Americans are 7.6 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Illinois, a state that ranked fifth nationally in the number of possession-related arrests in 2010, the report said. Studies show that marijuana use rates among blacks and whites are similar. In more than 100 Illinois communities, House Bill 218 would take away police officers' ability to decide whether to issue a ticket or make an arrest. For simple possession of less than 15 grams of cannabis, arrest wouldn't be an option unless other criminal conduct were alleged. Because blacks are ticketed and arrested more often than whites for marijuana possession in Springfield, the Springfield branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People supports House Bill 218, branch president Teresa Haley said. By removing unnecessary stigma, the bill "supports people's ability to live," Haley said. Public support The Roosevelt University report notes that more than 75 percent of Americans support measures that would end criminal sanctions for possessing small amounts of pot. A 2014 poll showed 63 percent of Illinois voters supporting a marijuana decriminalization bill. House Bill 218 calls for the chief judge of each judicial circuit to set the fine for possession of up to 15 grams or possession of drug paraphernalia at $55 to $125. From that fine, $10 would go to circuit clerks and $10 would go to local law enforcement agencies, all to pay expungement costs; $15 would go to counties for drug-addiction services; $10 would go to the State's Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor's office; $10 would go to the local state's attorney's office. The rest would go to the law enforcement agency issuing the ticket. The benefit of people avoiding a criminal conviction would be significant, especially for young people planning a professional career, said Springfield defense lawyer Bill Vig. "It doesn't tell us a lot about a person that they got caught with a small amount of cannabis," he said. If Mike Bonds had avoided misdemeanor convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana more than 15 years ago, he believes he might have been able to enlist in the U.S. Navy. The trajectory of his life - which includes a 2000 felony conviction in Piatt County for marijuana possession - might have been altered, said Bonds, who now operates a gutter installation business. That's why Bonds, 36, who lives in rural Mansfield, about 65 miles northeast of Springfield, supports a bill on Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk that would decriminalize possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis. "Using marijuana is not going to ruin your life, but if you get arrested for it, it will," Bonds said. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who smoke it." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom