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."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom