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Voters in the city of Kalamazoo are one step closer to deciding whether to liberalize the way law enforcement deals with the possession of small amounts of marijuana in the city.
The Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws turned in 4,776 signatures to the City Clerk's Office on Monday — 2,000 more than required — seeking to amend the city charter to state that the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 and older should be the "lowest possible priority" for law enforcement.
The clerk's office has 45 days to certify the signatures, but they are expected to be certified by some time mid to late next week, office officials said. The coalition needs at least 2,752 signatures of registered voters to get the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.
"This issue has strong support from the community," said Martin Chilcutt, political adviser for the coalition. "It will pass and people know it."
Chilcutt said the coalition had planned to lobby the City Commission to pass the charter amendment on its own, but decided against it after coalition members determined that support on the commission wasn't there.
Chilcutt said that the primary idea behind the amendment is to save tax money, not get the city closer to legalizing marijuana.
"The main thing is to stop wasting money on investigations and arrests for small amounts of marijuana when the budget is so tight," he said. "The police should be spending their time on more serious crime — robberies, assaults and serious drugs like ******, ******* and meth. The police are spending a lot of time on insignificant arrests for small amounts ( of marijuana )."
Added Chilcutt: "This isn't about legalizing marijuana."
Chilcutt said that the ordinance would also provide peace of mind to medical marijuana patients and caregivers who transport their medical marijuana in the city. Chilcutt is a registered medical marijuana patient whose caregiver — a person licensed with the state to grow medical marijuana for up to five registered patients — lives in Richland.
The coalition spent nearly all of the $4,500 raised from private donations to pay volunteers for the signature-gathering effort, which began in the spring but ramped up significantly over the past month, Chilcutt said. Volunteers were paid $1 per signature.
The coalition's efforts now will be focused on fundraising to pay for a public education campaign in advance of the election.
Letters will be sent to potential private donors and, possibly, to marijuana law reform groups, such as the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which provided support to those who backed Michigan's medical marijuana law in 2008.
If it is determined the coalition has enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot, Kalamazoo won't be the only city in Michigan to have a marijuana-related question on the November ballot.
Voters in the city of Detroit will decide whether they want to legalize the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 or older in the city.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source: Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com
Author: Chris Killian
Contact: MLive.com: About Us
Copyright: 2010 Michigan Live LLC.
Website:Group turns in petitions to make marijuana the "lowest possible priority" for Kalamazoo law enforcement | MLive.com
The Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws turned in 4,776 signatures to the City Clerk's Office on Monday — 2,000 more than required — seeking to amend the city charter to state that the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 and older should be the "lowest possible priority" for law enforcement.
The clerk's office has 45 days to certify the signatures, but they are expected to be certified by some time mid to late next week, office officials said. The coalition needs at least 2,752 signatures of registered voters to get the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.
"This issue has strong support from the community," said Martin Chilcutt, political adviser for the coalition. "It will pass and people know it."
Chilcutt said the coalition had planned to lobby the City Commission to pass the charter amendment on its own, but decided against it after coalition members determined that support on the commission wasn't there.
Chilcutt said that the primary idea behind the amendment is to save tax money, not get the city closer to legalizing marijuana.
"The main thing is to stop wasting money on investigations and arrests for small amounts of marijuana when the budget is so tight," he said. "The police should be spending their time on more serious crime — robberies, assaults and serious drugs like ******, ******* and meth. The police are spending a lot of time on insignificant arrests for small amounts ( of marijuana )."
Added Chilcutt: "This isn't about legalizing marijuana."
Chilcutt said that the ordinance would also provide peace of mind to medical marijuana patients and caregivers who transport their medical marijuana in the city. Chilcutt is a registered medical marijuana patient whose caregiver — a person licensed with the state to grow medical marijuana for up to five registered patients — lives in Richland.
The coalition spent nearly all of the $4,500 raised from private donations to pay volunteers for the signature-gathering effort, which began in the spring but ramped up significantly over the past month, Chilcutt said. Volunteers were paid $1 per signature.
The coalition's efforts now will be focused on fundraising to pay for a public education campaign in advance of the election.
Letters will be sent to potential private donors and, possibly, to marijuana law reform groups, such as the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which provided support to those who backed Michigan's medical marijuana law in 2008.
If it is determined the coalition has enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot, Kalamazoo won't be the only city in Michigan to have a marijuana-related question on the November ballot.
Voters in the city of Detroit will decide whether they want to legalize the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 or older in the city.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source: Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com
Author: Chris Killian
Contact: MLive.com: About Us
Copyright: 2010 Michigan Live LLC.
Website:Group turns in petitions to make marijuana the "lowest possible priority" for Kalamazoo law enforcement | MLive.com
