FOCUS:
MARIJUANA REFORM
Pot laws easier here?
Canada is lessening its
penalties for marijuana possession. But in an odd twist, New York's
laws on the drug are even weaker.
By MARK SOMMER
News Staff Reporter
8/18/2003
Click to view larger picture
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jim Hoad, of Sturgeon Falls, Ont., shows his support for decriminalizing
marijuana use in Canada during a Toronto demonstration in June.
Canada's current penalties
for marijuana possession are about to go up in smoke.
That's causing concern
among law enforcement officials - from Erie County Sheriff Patrick
M. Gallivan to federal drug czar John P. Walters - who don't like
the implications of pot being decriminalized north of the border.
But here's something not
widely known: New York State's laws on marijuana are, in some ways,
weaker than the ones Canada is poised to adopt.
In fact, New York decriminalized
marijuana a quarter-century ago, one of 12 states to do so.
So what exactly is the
difference between what Canada is proposing to do and what New York
already does?
It comes down to quantities
and the number of infractions.
Canada, if the country's
law is changed as expected, would not legalize marijuana. Instead,
it would treat possession of up to 15 grams, or about a half-ounce,
with fines equivalent in U.S. dollars of up to $290 for adults and
$180 for minors. Stiffer penalties would be imposed for drivers who
are high.
New York's law long ago
raised the bar for prosecution to 25 grams.
Possession in the state
is supposed to net offenders a civil citation for up to two offenses,
with a $100 fine for the first conviction and $200 for a second. It's
the lowest form of violation that can be prosecuted in the state.
The law gets tougher after
two convictions or if the violator is convicted of smoking in public.
In each case, the penalty rises to the level of a Class B misdemeanor,
which can result in 15 days of jail time and a fine of up to $250.
And even then, some well-placed
legal and law authorities believe the law is not always enforced.
"From a law enforcement
perspective, I'm sure there are times when people are not arrested
for very small amounts (of marijuana)," said Buffalo Police Commissioner
Rocco J. Diina. "These are cases clogging the (court) calendar
on what are considered minor infractions and which are being routinely
dismissed by judges."
Buffalo defense attorney
Paul Cambria agreed.
"Often police will
just find marijuana and toss it away," he said. "It's not
worth the paperwork to go forward."
Will the decriminalization
of marijuana in nearby Ontario tempt Western New York youths?
Sheriff Gallivan says yes
- potentially posing a dilemma, for example, for families vacationing
in or enjoying a summertime residence in Canada.
"Should this change
in Canadian policy take effect, we will see a sharp increase in the
availability of marijuana within a 10-minute drive from downtown Buffalo,"
he said.
Gallivan said some teens
are already enticed to go across the border to take advantage of the
lower drinking age of 19. Decriminalizing marijuana will increase
availability, he said, and raise the likelihood more youths will smoke
pot there.
The sheriff also said marijuana
is already a major export from Canada.
"We get more marijuana
in the Buffalo area from Canada than anywhere else," Gallivan
said.
Pushing for lax laws
Marijuana laws in the state
stand in sharp contrast to the stringent Rockefeller Drug Laws, the
1973 granddaddy of mandatory-minimum sentencing for cases involving
cocaine and heroin.
Proponents of marijuana
decriminalization - many of whom favor outright legalization - say
marijuana is a relatively harmless recreational drug enjoyed by tens
of millions.
Putting people in jail
for marijuana is a waste of lives and public funds, they say.
"Every time the Allman
Brothers come into town, people are caught smoking and are charged
with a misdemeanor," said Ruth Liebesman, an attorney at the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. She was referring
to one of many rock bands that are a magnet for pot smokers.
People like Liebesman take
satisfaction from an October 2002 Time/CNN Poll that found 72 percent
of people favored a fine without jail time for possession of small
amounts of marijuana, and 80 percent supported legalizing marijuana
for medical
purposes. Nearly half of
those polled - 47 percent - said they had tried marijuana.
The poll added fuel to
the arguments of the reform group, a 33-year-old organization that
seeks to legalize marijuana use for adults.
"When one out of two
Americans have flouted the law, there's something wrong with the law,"
said Keith Stroup, founder and executive director of the Washington,
D.C.-based organization. "We distinguish all the time between
the use and abuse of alcohol. That's what we should do with pot."
Bruce Mirken, spokesman
for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., another group
that has pushed for marijuana decriminalization, scoffs at the notion
that Canada's relaxed laws will hurt the United States.
"New York has a marijuana
use rate which is about half of that in Massachusetts, which does
jail people (for small amounts of possession)," he said. "Is
New York flooded with Massachusetts teenagers wanting to get high?"
A "gateway drug'
But opponents of marijuana
decriminalization say that tough penalties are needed because pot
has been shown to be a "gateway drug" to other illicit and
potentially dangerous substances, from LSD to Ecstasy.
They fear that decriminalization
in Canada will signal greater public acceptance of the drug. That
could lead to greater availability and more trafficking, they claim.
Recent scientific studies
point to health risks posed by marijuana.
The National Institute
on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, has found
persistent use can impair memory.
Long-term use increases
the risk of cancer of the head, neck and lungs and can lead to a chronic
cough, bronchitis or emphysema. For some people, the institute said,
the drug can become an addiction.
Area of ignorance
Americans continue to underestimate
the dangers of marijuana, said Walters, director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"The reality of marijuana
in the United States is that it is the single biggest area of ignorance,"
said Walters, who during the Reagan administration was chief of staff
to the nation's first drug czar, William Bennett. "Most people
think of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine - those are hard drugs,
those are the great drugs of addiction.
"But you cannot speak
seriously about the need for treatment and dependency and abuse in
the United States without talking about marijuana," Walters said.
"Of the illegal drugs, it's the single biggest cause of treatment
need of any illegal drug and twice that of the second most significant
cause, cocaine."
While penalties for marijuana
are lower, arrests are at an all-time high.
In 2001, the last year
for which numbers are available, 723,627 people were arrested for
marijuana violations across the country, according to the FBI.
That's the second-highest
ever recorded and more than double the number of arrests in 1992.
Marijuana arrests were
nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States, the FBI said.
Charges for first-time
users, however, are frequently thrown out in New York under what's
known as an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. And few people
are convicted of smoking pot more than twice, when the penalty changes
to a misdemeanor.
Major reforms
The 25-gram level set for
prosecution in New York State has a historical basis.
That amount refers to what
constituted a "lid," the amount that marijuana was typically
sold in during the 1960s and early 1970s. The lid eventually gave
way to the ounce, technically 28.35 grams. That amount provides 30
to 40 modest-size joints, which can last an average smoker two to
three months.
Nowadays, with top-grade
pot going for $400 and up, marijuana is also commonly sold in eighths
of an ounce.
Marijuana reforms in the
state and nationally have been dramatic since the heyday of the '60s
counterculture, when smoking "grass" first attained widespread
popularity.
"When we founded NORML
32 years ago, possession of even a small amount was a felony in almost
every state, and it was very common for people to get five- and 10-year
sentences for possession of even an ounce of marijuana," said
Stroup, the executive director of the marijuana law reform group.
Some people have gotten
steep prison sentences for far less.
John Sinclair received
a 10-year prison sentence in Michigan in July 1969 for possession
of two joints. His situation was popularized by the John Lennon song
"John Sinclair," and he ended up being released from jail
- but not before serving 21/2 years.
Medical issue
Another burning issue concerning marijuana is Canada's decision in
July to begin allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical
purposes.
In contrast, the Bush administration
that same month asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to prosecute
doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients.
Doctors are allowed to
do so in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington, in accordance with the laws of those states.
e-mail: msommer@buffnews.com
