The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Carbondale leading the pack in marijuana decriminalization

Carbondale isn't alone in its push to reduce penalties for those caught possessing small amounts marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.

Since adopting an ordinance in March that allows the city to fine petty offenders instead of sending the case into the court system, other communities are taking note and passing similar decriminalization laws.

In November, the city of Columbia, Mo., voted to have offenders possessing 35 grams or less appear in municipal court instead of facing state court, where consequences are more severe. The city also voted to legalize marijuana possession for seriously ill patients with a doctor's permission.

Mayor Brad Cole said it is nice to know that Carbondale is "at the head of the pack for progressive ideas" and said he isn't surprised because the change has proved to be beneficial for the city by abolishing excessive administrative work and generating extra money.

Paul Armentano of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington D.C. said this push for decriminalization is gaining popularity in liberal or college towns, such as Oakland, Seattle and Madison, Wis., because students who are convicted of a drug crime loose their federal financial aid.

But college towns aren't the only places considering decriminalization. In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley supports a proposal to reduce marijuana possession penalties from a misdemeanor to the equivalent of a traffic offense.

Citing the large percentage of drug cases thrown out of courts, Daley said ticketing offenders would generate revenue and save the city from spending millions of dollars by not requiring officers to process paperwork and appear in court.

But Calvina Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation in St. Petersburg, Fla., said lowering penalties sends the wrong message and allows severe offenders to "slip through the system."

"When you do this, you are telling young people that it's OK," Fay said. "It will cause more people to experiment with drugs, which in turn leads to more effects of illegal drug use.

"More accidents, more health problems, more irresponsible sexual behavior - society has to look at the cost of all this. You can't put a price tag on lives, and drugs destroy lives."

Cole agreed that drugs are dangerous, but said ticketing someone is still enforcing the law, just on a different level.

"It's not encouraging use," Cole said. "If we encouraged it, it would be legal."

 

 

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