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CEDAR FALLS | A pair of activists is working behind the scenes on a policy they hope will lead to the decriminalization of marijuana in cities across Iowa, starting with Cedar Falls.
They are Quinn Symonds of Mason City and Aaron Schoeneman of Ames. Symonds is the founder of marijuana advocacy group Iowa First and is a member of the Iowa chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, of which Schoeneman is director.
“We’re hoping that by us doing this, other people will do it, that maybe there will be a domino effect,” Symonds said.
Symonds and Schoeneman started drafting their policy — which cities in Iowa could adopt as an ordinance -- after Cedar Falls City Councilman Nick Taiber approached them for guidance in early October.
Taiber has proposed decriminalizing the possession of marijuana within Cedar Falls, and he thinks the policy proposed by Symonds and Schoneman could be the way to do it.
“How you go about it in each city could be a little bit different,” Taiber said, “but it could serve as a template.”
Legalizing the drug in Iowa would require a change in state or federal law. But if marijuana was decriminalized locally, police would stop making marijuana-related arrests and concentrate on violent and property crimes instead. According to Alan Kemp, executive director of the Iowa League of Cities, city councils have the authority to take such an action.
Marijuana decriminalization has a particular urgency for Symonds and Schoeneman. They see it as inexorably intertwined with racism.
“This drug war,” Symonds said, “it’s racist.”
The American Civil Liberties Union agrees. According to a report the ACLU released last year, Iowa is the worst state in the nation in terms of racial disparity when it comes to marijuana-related arrests. Blacks in Iowa are eight times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, even though they use it at the same rate.
“The amount of racial disparity in terms of these arrests is not something we should stand for as Americans or Iowans,” Schoeneman said.
Taiber, Symonds and Schoeneman and a base of supporters across the state agree with the ACLU’s recommendation: Legalize marijuana where you can, and decriminalize it where you can’t.
Symonds said under his and Schoeneman’s proposal, local police departments would be instructed not to arrest anyone in possession of less than 28 grams of marijuana . Those in possession of multiple packages of marijuana in five separate portions or more would still be vulnerable to arrest for intent to sell and distribute.
For those who do get arrested, the policy recommends the offense be listed as a civil citation rather than a serious misdemeanor, and community service could be substituted for monetary punishments.
Symonds and Schoeneman expect to have a final version of their policy completed and released online in the coming weeks.
Taiber hopes to keep discussing decriminalization in Cedar Falls, but he does not intend to force the issue with his fellow council members, most of whom oppose the idea.
Still, if a group of community members cares to bring the proposal before the council, Taiber will support them.
“I can’t carry this banner myself,” he said. “I need people to get engaged.”
According to Symonds, people already are. He said an undisclosed advocacy group in the Cedar Valley has approached him with plans to present the policy to the Cedar Falls council upon its completion. His Facebook page has lit up in recent days with citizens from across the state interested in pursuing decriminalization.
“It’s already gaining momentum,” Symonds said.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/go...cle_e34c1bce-138a-5b4d-b4f2-eb41db8ab195.html
They are Quinn Symonds of Mason City and Aaron Schoeneman of Ames. Symonds is the founder of marijuana advocacy group Iowa First and is a member of the Iowa chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, of which Schoeneman is director.
“We’re hoping that by us doing this, other people will do it, that maybe there will be a domino effect,” Symonds said.
Symonds and Schoeneman started drafting their policy — which cities in Iowa could adopt as an ordinance -- after Cedar Falls City Councilman Nick Taiber approached them for guidance in early October.
Taiber has proposed decriminalizing the possession of marijuana within Cedar Falls, and he thinks the policy proposed by Symonds and Schoneman could be the way to do it.
“How you go about it in each city could be a little bit different,” Taiber said, “but it could serve as a template.”
Legalizing the drug in Iowa would require a change in state or federal law. But if marijuana was decriminalized locally, police would stop making marijuana-related arrests and concentrate on violent and property crimes instead. According to Alan Kemp, executive director of the Iowa League of Cities, city councils have the authority to take such an action.
Marijuana decriminalization has a particular urgency for Symonds and Schoeneman. They see it as inexorably intertwined with racism.
“This drug war,” Symonds said, “it’s racist.”
The American Civil Liberties Union agrees. According to a report the ACLU released last year, Iowa is the worst state in the nation in terms of racial disparity when it comes to marijuana-related arrests. Blacks in Iowa are eight times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, even though they use it at the same rate.
“The amount of racial disparity in terms of these arrests is not something we should stand for as Americans or Iowans,” Schoeneman said.
Taiber, Symonds and Schoeneman and a base of supporters across the state agree with the ACLU’s recommendation: Legalize marijuana where you can, and decriminalize it where you can’t.
Symonds said under his and Schoeneman’s proposal, local police departments would be instructed not to arrest anyone in possession of less than 28 grams of marijuana . Those in possession of multiple packages of marijuana in five separate portions or more would still be vulnerable to arrest for intent to sell and distribute.
For those who do get arrested, the policy recommends the offense be listed as a civil citation rather than a serious misdemeanor, and community service could be substituted for monetary punishments.
Symonds and Schoeneman expect to have a final version of their policy completed and released online in the coming weeks.
Taiber hopes to keep discussing decriminalization in Cedar Falls, but he does not intend to force the issue with his fellow council members, most of whom oppose the idea.
Still, if a group of community members cares to bring the proposal before the council, Taiber will support them.
“I can’t carry this banner myself,” he said. “I need people to get engaged.”
According to Symonds, people already are. He said an undisclosed advocacy group in the Cedar Valley has approached him with plans to present the policy to the Cedar Falls council upon its completion. His Facebook page has lit up in recent days with citizens from across the state interested in pursuing decriminalization.
“It’s already gaining momentum,” Symonds said.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/go...cle_e34c1bce-138a-5b4d-b4f2-eb41db8ab195.html
