LittleDabbie
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DELAND — The Volusia County Council voted unanimously Thursday to take a step toward decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The new ordinance falls short of being a full-on decriminalization. Law-enforcement officers will have the option of issuing county code violation citations, rather than criminally charging people with misdemeanor possession. Those given citations will face a county court fine of $100.
The new law applies only to people caught with marijuana on the beach and in unincorporated county areas.
It goes into effect on April 1, a date that wasn't lost on Councilman Josh Wagner, who first raised the issue.
"April Fool's Day," Wagner joked, before making a mild argument for a different date, April 20. That's considered a counterculture holiday celebrating marijuana use, based on the belief that the optimum time for smoking joints is 4:20.
Later, asked what was the significance of 4/20, Wagner responded: "It's national smoking pot day."
He and other council members argued it makes sense decriminalizing marijuana, rather than legalizing it, as has been done in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are among the Florida counties to decriminalize marijuana.
"As a lawyer, the cost of possession of a marijuana joint, I would have to report myself to the bar," Wagner said. "There are a whole set of issues that is beyond belief. My whole law practice could be in jeopardy."
Volusia County Chair Jason Davis said he has seen a case where a "lad much younger than I" had two joints in his pocket, was followed by police, who then proceeded to ransack his house and charge him with a felony. "His life was ruined over something the size of a cigarette," Davis said.
He said misdemeanor marijuana possession — which is 20 grams or less — often isn't a good use of law-enforcement officers' time. "Let's teach 'em a lesson but not ruin their lives," Davis said.
Councilman Fred Lowry said it took some convincing for him to support the ordinance.
"My first reflex on this was to stand against it," Lowry said. "My feeling is as long as we were not adding to (officers') job, or restricting their authority, I can support this thing."
During a council discussion in December, members noted racial disparities in drug charges. A 2010 American Civil Liberties Union report notes that in Florida, blacks were arrested on marijuana charges more than four times the rate of whites.
Other council members said repeat offenders often clog up the judicial system and tax the county more in jail-operation costs.
Mike Pastore, a Daytona Beach homeless advocate, was the only resident to speak. In supporting the change, he said he was arrested at age 17 and charged with marijuana possession.
"I urge you not to change the course of someone's life with a criminal sanction for such a petty misdemeanor," Pastore said. "Times have changed."
http://www.news-journalonline.com/a...olusia-softens-stance-on-marijuana-possession
The new ordinance falls short of being a full-on decriminalization. Law-enforcement officers will have the option of issuing county code violation citations, rather than criminally charging people with misdemeanor possession. Those given citations will face a county court fine of $100.
The new law applies only to people caught with marijuana on the beach and in unincorporated county areas.
It goes into effect on April 1, a date that wasn't lost on Councilman Josh Wagner, who first raised the issue.
"April Fool's Day," Wagner joked, before making a mild argument for a different date, April 20. That's considered a counterculture holiday celebrating marijuana use, based on the belief that the optimum time for smoking joints is 4:20.
Later, asked what was the significance of 4/20, Wagner responded: "It's national smoking pot day."
He and other council members argued it makes sense decriminalizing marijuana, rather than legalizing it, as has been done in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are among the Florida counties to decriminalize marijuana.
"As a lawyer, the cost of possession of a marijuana joint, I would have to report myself to the bar," Wagner said. "There are a whole set of issues that is beyond belief. My whole law practice could be in jeopardy."
Volusia County Chair Jason Davis said he has seen a case where a "lad much younger than I" had two joints in his pocket, was followed by police, who then proceeded to ransack his house and charge him with a felony. "His life was ruined over something the size of a cigarette," Davis said.
He said misdemeanor marijuana possession — which is 20 grams or less — often isn't a good use of law-enforcement officers' time. "Let's teach 'em a lesson but not ruin their lives," Davis said.
Councilman Fred Lowry said it took some convincing for him to support the ordinance.
"My first reflex on this was to stand against it," Lowry said. "My feeling is as long as we were not adding to (officers') job, or restricting their authority, I can support this thing."
During a council discussion in December, members noted racial disparities in drug charges. A 2010 American Civil Liberties Union report notes that in Florida, blacks were arrested on marijuana charges more than four times the rate of whites.
Other council members said repeat offenders often clog up the judicial system and tax the county more in jail-operation costs.
Mike Pastore, a Daytona Beach homeless advocate, was the only resident to speak. In supporting the change, he said he was arrested at age 17 and charged with marijuana possession.
"I urge you not to change the course of someone's life with a criminal sanction for such a petty misdemeanor," Pastore said. "Times have changed."
http://www.news-journalonline.com/a...olusia-softens-stance-on-marijuana-possession
