Pubdate: Tue, 19 Apr 2016
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2016 Orlando Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs.
Author: Jeff Weiner

ORLANDO CLOSER TO OK ON POT MEASURE

Orlando moved a major step closer to effectively decriminalizing 
small amounts of marijuana on Monday, when the City Council narrowly 
backed a measure that would allow officers to issue tickets to some 
people caught with the drug.

Commissioners voted 4-3 to approve the ordinance, which would make 
possession of 20 grams (about two-thirds of an ounce) or less a 
violation of city code carrying a $50 fine for first-time offenders.

The council plans to take a final vote on the measure on May 9. If 
approved then, it would take effect immediately.

Dozens of residents attended Monday's meeting to speak about the 
ordinance, with supporters outnumbering opponents.

One of the three council members to vote no, Commissioner Samuel 
Ings, argued it would damage Orlando's image as a family-friendly 
tourist destination and represents a "slippery slope."

"People need to know and understand that this is making it easier for 
criminals to use marijuana, with less criminal charges and 
punishment," Ings said.

The other two against it were commissioners Jim Gray and Tony Ortiz.

"We don't have to follow the trend that other cities have started 
just because it has become popular," said Ortiz, who argued not 
enough information is yet available to determine the impact of 
similar policies.

Voting in favor were commissioners Regina Hill, Patty Sheehan, Robert 
Stuart and Mayor Buddy Dyer.

Orlando police Chief John Mina and Dyer urged approval of the 
ordinance, which mirrors similar pot policies other governments have 
adopted recently, including Tampa and Volusia County last month.

Even if it passes, marijuana possession will remain a state crime. 
Mina said officers may still make arrests even for small amounts in 
the future, depending on the circumstances, including the offender's record.

"This cannot [and] will not replace the criminal state statute ... 
our officers will have the discretion to arrest in certain 
situations," Mina said. "This just gives them another option."

Officers already have the option to confiscate small amounts of 
marijuana without making an arrest. Mina presented the proposed 
citation as a middle ground between a verbal warning and an arrest.

Shawn Dunlap, president of Orlando's Fraternal Order of Police, said 
he informally polled the rank and file and found "no opposition from 
the men and women on the street" for the proposed ordinance.

Supporters of the ordinance said minor pot arrests waste the time of 
cops and courts and leave a harmful lasting impact on the job and 
education prospects of those arrested, especially minorities and young people.

"I see this initiative as one step in ending the war on drugs, and 
thus I support it," said Lisa Tillmann, an activist and Rollins 
College professor. "If we must declare war, my own drum beats for 
wars on addiction, poverty and racism."

Another proponent, Angelica Brown, said that she had experienced the 
impact of a marijuana conviction since her own minor pot possession 
conviction five years ago.

"Since 2011, I have not been in any trouble, yet the [criminal case] 
still haunts me," she said.

Critics of the ordinance at Monday's meeting had a variety of 
objections. Some said the ordinance doesn't go far enough, because it 
can't overrule the state law making pot possession a crime. Others 
said it goes too far.

"We feel that marijuana is a gateway drug," said Jim Millar, whose 
15-year-old son died of a prescription drug overdose in 2010, after 
earlier experimenting with marijuana. "It leads to young people 
trying other things."

Another critic, Benjamin Purdum, said the ordinance sends the wrong 
message to young people.

"I've got three grandchildren," Purdum said. "I want them to grow up 
knowing what the boundaries are."

Several speakers on both sides of the issue expressed concern that 
giving officers the discretion to either arrest or issue a citation 
carries the risk of the ordinance being enforced inconsistently or unfairly.

Hill said she shared that concern, but opted to support the ordinance 
anyway, citing her own experience overcoming drug arrests from her 
past to win election to the City Council in 2014.

"How can I not vote for this ordinance [after] somebody gave me a 
chance?" Hill said. "So it's my duty to vote yes for this ordinance 
because this does help other people have a chance."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom