Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2015 Albuquerque Journal Contact: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 Author: Emily Kaltenbach, State Director, Drug Policy Alliance THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO REDUCE MARIJUANA PENALTIES Albuquerque City Council Approved Changes, and Now Final OK Lies With Mayor Richard Berry The Albuquerque City Council on Sept. 21 voted to reduce marijuana penalties for possessing an ounce or less for personal use. Mayor Richard Berry has 10 days from the vote to veto it. Will the mayor, who vetoed the legislation last year, change his mind this time around? He should. Let me count the ways. 1. Over 115 million people, or one-third of the U.S. population, lives in jurisdictions where marijuana has been decriminalized. Oregon decriminalized marijuana more than 40 years ago. Santa Fe, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia decriminalized marijuana last year. 2. Voters in Bernalillo County voted overwhelmingly in favor of reducing marijuana penalties in the November election. Nearly 91 percent of the precincts in Bernalillo County said "yes" to reducing penalties. Overall, 60 percent of voters in the county voted in favor of penalty reductions. 3. Some say that people are not arrested for small amounts of marijuana. The data tell a different story. As the Albuquerque Journal reported on Sunday, "Metropolitan Court checked and found that in a year's time it handled fewer than 200 cases. And Nataura Powdrell, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Detention Center, found just '30 people in the last year who were booked on the possession of marijuana (1 ounce or less) charge without a warrant or probation violation.' " Those numbers are not trivial. They represent real people who, as a result of their arrest, face collateral sanctions such as barriers to employment and housing, loss of benefits such as food stamps and health care, and the lifetime of character defamation that comes with their criminal history. 4. APD says the new city ordinance would create conflict and be confusing. However, the city already has a marijuana possession city ordinance that differs from state law. Today, Albuquerque police have the discretion to cite under the existing city law or the state law. Having the ability to give someone a $25 citation for marijuana possession will make things easier for police, not harder. 5. The claim that Santa Fe police are not citing under their new city marijuana ordinance is false. In fact, recent data show that at least 20 percent of the time, Santa Fe police are citing people with a $25 fine instead of charging them under state law. 6. Albuquerque deserves to have a police department that has the resources and training to deal with serious violent crimes. Why would we knowingly put our children and police officers at risk by stretching our law enforcement beyond their means with nonviolent and low-level crimes that do not threaten our community? On Sept. 9, an Albuquerque Journal headline read, "Violent Weekend Stretches APD Thin." Sadly, I am sure this was not a surprise to most Albuquerque residents, who live in a city that has a crime rate twice that of the national rate. It also was not a surprise to the APD as they were quoted in the article saying that they are understaffed. Reducing marijuana penalties will help law enforcement resources be spent more efficiently and effectively. 7. The decision Berry faces is rooted in a moral question. Do we want to be the kind of society that arrests and jails nonviolent adults - who are disproportionately people of color and low-income - for possessing a substance that's unequivocally been shown to be far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco? The people of Bernalillo County have clearly demonstrated that they want a more just society. It is time their mayor took note. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom