[OG Kush]

An initiative that aims to make marijuana offenses the single lowest priority for Missoula County law enforcement has qualified for a spot on the November ballot, according to proponents of the measure.

Dubbed Initiative 2, the measure was proposed by Citizens for Responsible Crime Policy, and, thanks in part to months of aggressive signature gathering, has won the support of more than 20,000 registered voters in Missoula County. The measure required just 11,723 signatures to place on the ballot.

If enough voters support Initiative 2 in November's general election, the measure would lean on local law enforcement to make “citations, arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana offenses Missoula County's lowest law enforcement priority,” according to the proposal.
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The measure would not include marijuana sales or drug use by minors as low-priority offenses, and would in no way legalize the drug.

While the initiative is a mere suggestion to law enforcement, and not a law, the proposal does call for a Community Oversight Committee. The committee would consist of community members, criminal defense attorneys and a drug rehabilitation counselor who would investigate marijuana arrests and produce a report on the initiative's effects seven months after its passage.

“Initiative 2 will create a citizen oversight committee that would annually track and report to taxpayers how much local government time and money are being spent on adult marijuana offenses as compared to other law enforcement issues,” said Angela Goodhope, a spokeswoman for the group.

The measure strives to place increased emphasis on crimes that threaten people's lives and property and on other, more pressing drug issues, Goodhope said.

But some law enforcement officials have balked at the measure, describing it as another furtive step toward the legalization of marijuana.

“Personally, I think it's a joke,” said Detective Tom Lewis with Missoula's office of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. “Most misdemeanor possession cases arise from traffic stops or arrests on other warrants. We're not out there looking for it, but a lot of people have marijuana in their pockets. Across the United States, marijuana is the drug of choice. We see more marijuana than anything.”

Goodhope said Initiative 2 mimics a similar measure that's been successful in Seattle for three years.

Goodhope also noted that Montana spends more than $9 million every year enforcing marijuana laws. Meanwhile, data from the Montana Board of Crime Control show that less than one-third of the rapes reported in Missoula County last year led to an arrest, and only 8 percent of burglaries led to an arrest.


Newshawk: SX420 - 420Girls.com
Source: 420Times.com
Author: Tristan Scott
Copyright: 2006 Missoulian
Contact: tscott@missoulian.com
Website: http://www.missoulian.com