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Have Florida crime laws gone to pot?
4/12/08|The News Herald| by Jeremy Morrison

Mosley High School Assistant Principal Brian Barnes was arrested April 1 for allegedly purchasing more than 20 grams of marijuana. Police said he told investigators he wanted the illegal herb for stress relief and recreational use.

Though the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance, a characterization that denotes addictiveness and denies any currently accepted medical use, 13 states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon — have altered laws regarding the substance, pursuing decriminalization or a medicinal path. The result has been a patchwork of laws that treat identical acts starkly differently, depending on locale.

Under Florida law, Barnes faces up to five years behind bars if found guilty as charged.

“You gotta be kidding me,” said Vince Neeson, a narcotics officer with the San Francisco Police Department. “You guys are tough. Simple possession for use? We don’t even bother with it.”

Coming Monday: See local residents talk about their views of marijuana and related laws.

Local law enforcement
Bay County Sheriff’s Office Captain Ricky Ramie has absolutely no tolerance for marijuana.

“Did they get all that dope out of here?” the captain called from his office.

A few minutes later, an officer presented Ramie with a sealed evidence bag full of pot. It was dark green and pressed nearly flat.

“As you can see, this is a very big bud,” Ramie said as he fluffed the pot out of its compressed form.

This marijuana, Ramie suspects, came into Bay County from Mexico. Sometimes, it’s so compressed, his team uses an axe to break it up. The content of THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes users “high,” is low is this type of marijuana.

A different grade of pot is grown stateside. It’s stickier and much more potent. But to Ramie, it’s all the same: bad news.

“You can’t erase my memory of what I’ve seen in the business,” Ramie said.

The captain views marijuana as a “gateway drug,” saying use of the substance leads to harder drugs. He recounts a story of a local mother abandoning her family and becoming a prostitute in a three-month span after smoking a marijuana joint laced with crack.

“People that use marijuana,” Ramie said, “sometimes that high is not enough.”

In Lynn Haven, Police Chief David Messer isn’t sold on the gateway theory.

“I don’t know if it’s any more a gateway drug than any of the other drugs,” he said. “I can’t say marijuana is any worse than alcohol, but I can say it’s illegal.”

Messer’s department netted Barnes while attempting to arrest a supplier.

“I guess you could call it collateral damage,” he said.

But Messer said it’s not the first time he has arrested someone for pot that doesn’t fit the typical drug-abuser profile.

“It’s the whole spectrum. We’ve arrested teachers before, we’ve arrested cops, we’ve arrested ministers. It affects everybody,” Messer said. “I know people can use marijuana; whatever it does to you, it just doesn’t seem to be as violent.”

Enforcement
The circumstances of Barnes’ case are familiar to officials with the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, or NORML. Barnes is a successful professional respected by the community, was without a criminal past and was arrested with marijuana for personal use.

“Poor guy,” said Roger Scott, executive director of Florida’s chapter of NORML.

“They’re putting almost a million pot smokers in jail every year that have committed no other crime,” he said. “That’s not helpful to society.”

According to government reports, nearly 1.9 million drug arrests were made in 2006; of those, 829,627 were marijuana arrests, most of them for possession. In 2004, the government estimated just more than 12 percent of the country’s prison population was serving time for marijuana-related offenses.

In Bay County, the Sheriff’s Office reported 469 marijuana arrests for 2007; the county logged a total of 864 drug arrests last year. Local municipalities reported much smaller numbers, but the percentages were about the same.

Groups such as NORML want to alter marijuana laws and reduce this trend.

“NORML’s position is responsible pot smokers shouldn’t be arrested,” Scott said, dismissing the notion that smoking marijuana is irresponsible, leading to other drugs. “They keep trotting out ‘gateway drug.’ They keep coming up with the same arguments that have been disproven since the ’70s.”

In 1972, the President Richard Nixon-appointed National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse presented its formal recommendation in regards to the substance: “Neither the marihuana [sic] user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety. Therefore, the Commission recommends … possession of marihuana for personal use no longer be an offense, casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration no longer be an offense.”

Recently released audio recordings from Nixon’s administration reveal the president soon after calling for an “all-out-war” against marijuana.

Medicinal research
The federal government grows marijuana, or cannabis, as it often is called for medicinal research, in a facility at the University of Mississippi. It is the only government-sanctioned operation in the country and is used to study the plant. The grounds, only a short walk from the school’s baseball and football fields, are under armed guard and razor wire.

“You get the picture,” said Dr. Kenneth Sufka, a professor of psychology and pharmacology at Ole Miss.

Sufka conducts research on pain, anxiety and depression. Marijuana, he said, could be helpful in easing such ailments.

“Cannabis has the potential to be useful in a variety of medicinal situations,” Sufka said.

Marijuana, he explained, has hundreds of properties, some of which might be medically beneficial for things such as pain relief or appetite stimulus. One pot-based drug launched from the facility diminishes the plant’s psychoactive qualities and is delivered via a suppository to discourage abuse.

“It’s done and out there; it’s already being used in Europe.”

Though Sufka recognizes marijuana can be medically useful in some ways, he’s careful not to tout the substance as a wonder drug.

“I don’t see myself as an advocate; I see myself as an academic,” the professor said. “I’m not some person that’s on the bandwagon of ‘marijuana is the saving grace.’”

But, when pondering the benefits of a Schedule I substance, otherwise academic conversations can take a tone of advocacy. Sufka realizes a questionable cloud probably will hang over marijuana research for quite a while.

“There are a lot of government policies, procedures and rules that don’t make any sense. I think the bigger picture is the culture,” Sufka said. “Very few politicians, in my view, are really educated in the sciences; they live in a different world.”

Laws
Though a number of states have changed laws regarding marijuana, the federal stance has remained constant. In 2005, the Supreme Court issued a ruling reasserting the federal government’s trumping of such state laws. The 13 states operate in an awkward limbo.

Local law enforcement is hesitant to theorize about what-ifs. They deal with the here and now.

“If it’s a law, we have to enforce it,” Messer said. “I can’t say I agree or disagree; it doesn’t really matter what I think.”

Florida State Attorney spokesman Joe Grammer said setting or changing laws is a function of legislators. If rules change, law enforcement agencies adjust accordingly.

“Laws are changing every year. We just adapt to it,” Grammer said. “If they said one day that having cough syrup with codeine in it is a felony, we’d prosecute that.”

The folks with NORML concede talking about altering drug laws is political suicide.

“The public seems to be very behind it, but politically they’ve locked themselves into this war on drugs,” Scott said.

If Florida took a cue from the states tinkering with their marijuana laws, Ramie said he would feel as if “the wind was let out of my sails, because I know what it ties to.”

Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne said he hopes Florida laws regarding marijuana remain in place. But he takes a practical view on the possibility of change.

“Personally, I would feel a loss,” Thorne said. “Professionally, that’s just one less thing to worry about; our plate is full.”

Marijuana laws in other states [Source: NORML]
In Florida, conviction of possessing 20 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor and requires one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. More than 20 grams is a felony, with a penalty of up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Here are penalties for simple possession of marijuana in several states outside the Southeast:

California: For possession of 28.5 grams or less, the penalty is $100 with no arrest. Possession of more than 28.5 grams is punishable by up to six months and jail and a $500 fine. Medical marijuana is legal under state law with the approval of a physician.

Colorado: Possession of 1 ounce or less is a petty offense requiring a court appearance and a $100 fine. Medical marijuana is legal for patients approved by a physician and registered with the state.

Maryland: Possession of any amount is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine. Medical marijuana is legal under state law.

Minnesota: Possession of less than 42.5 grams is a misdemeanor with a $200 fine. Drug education may be required.

Nevada: On a first offense, adults (21 and up) with 1 ounce or less is a misdemeanor with a $600 fine and required rehabilitation/treatment. Medical use is allowed with approval of a physician; patients may cultivate up to four plants or 1 ounce.

 

Vicki

Yeah, this is no surprise. Florida has always been fucked up, and behind the times.

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Buzzby

That's one of the sillier pronouncements I've heard coming out of a LEO. There are laws on the books that go unenforced all of the time. How many times have you cruised past a police car doing 10 mph over the speed limit without getting pulled over? How many times have you crossed the street in the middle of a block in view of a LEO without getting busted for jaywalking? In parts of the world where marijuana is technically illegal, like Vancouver, Paris, and Amsterdam, you can smoke a joint on the street without getting popped.

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eltone

We can only hope and pray that the use, possession, etc., of pot will someday NOT be a crime. Here's an example I've posted before regarding what Sen Tom Harkin (D-Ia, ) thinks happens to you if you use marijuana, "If you smoke marijuana you will find yourself huddled in a corner, willing to sell your children just for one more "Hit" of marijuana." This is an excerpt from Sen Tom Harkin's (D-Ia.) "War On Drugs" form letter regarding his views on the use of marijuana be it medical or personal. He lumps cannabis right in with heroin, cocaine and meth. But he's leaving out the two most addictive and fatal drugs used in America today, Yep, Alcohol & Nicotine. We all know that our government has purposely been lieing to the people regarding the effects of marijuana on the human body. Utah first outlawed it because their fellow mormans would go down and bring back marijuana for their own personal use. Well, sex, drugs and the morman religion...hmmm, I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Anyway then the mexicans, yada, yada, yada...so you see it was all racially motivated to empower the U.S. Government to deport them marijuana smokin' wetbacks. (Sorry, not my words, only our government's.) Hey does that mean our government is not allowed to use this site since they lie and are extremely prejudice and offensive Main point being the state of Iowa will never legalize anything cannabis until the Feds do. Even then Iowa would probably stick with the "Reefer Madness" beliefs. My friend is doing 3 years for possessing 3 ounces, where the hell is the justice, no the sanity in that? Thanks for letting me spout, I get so Frustrated I feel like I'm yeh that's it, for it feels so good when I stop. Let's vote to legalize any and all things cannabis it could only be a better country. There is no downside to the legalization of Cannabis, only negative opinions the facts speak for themselves ACP, Francis L. Young, etc., etc., etc. Peace...

GateKeeper2000

Ouch... I live in Florida... I need to get the Hell out.

 

Vicki

Yeah, I've said that many, many times.