From norml at montananorml.org Wed Dec 3 20:20:46 2008 From: norml at montananorml.org (Montana NORML) Date: Wed Dec 3 20:22:15 2008 Subject: [Mtnorml-list] Missoula Marijuana Committee -- 2nd report released Message-ID: <49374C8E.9090205@montananorml.org> Hi all, The Community Oversight Committee formed by Initiative #2, which recommended that adult marijuana activity be the lowest priority for law enforcement, released its second report today. In short, despite a slight decrease in incidents reported by county officials, busts by the Missoula Police Department skyrocketed. The average bust size was 2 grams, or about one joint - just about every day. It seems that the lowest-priority recommendation of voters is being mostly ignored. The full report is here: http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/initiative2/reports/ -- John Masterson Montana NORML http://www.montananorml.org From norml at montananorml.org Thu Dec 4 09:02:35 2008 From: norml at montananorml.org (Montana NORML) Date: Thu Dec 4 09:05:57 2008 Subject: [Mtnorml-list] Missoula Marijuana Committee -- 2nd report released In-Reply-To: <49374C8E.9090205@montananorml.org> References: <49374C8E.9090205@montananorml.org> Message-ID: <4937FF1B.1060500@montananorml.org> All, A list member asks "Is there anything we can do to help stop the badgering from the police and authorities?" Great question. Yes, there are things you can do (below). A few thoughts first: By the numbers, the primary "badgerers" are the city police. I've spoken with the police chief and I believe him when he says that the police are not out actively hunting down pot smokers. But, they regularly encounter marijuana in the course of dealing with other incidents, whether it's a traffic stop, a noise complaint, disorderly conduct, domestic dispute, trespassing, whatever. Law enforcement uses training and professional discretion all the time to guide their enforcement activities. If someone's jaywalking at the same time as an assault occurs across the street, then they know what to do. So, they *could* process the primary offense (e.g., stop sign violation) and leave it at that. Instead, they seem to be taking extra time to search for pot. See for example, http://i2files.montanadrugpolicy.org/2008data/incidents.php?case=MC012408-162 Evidence Description: "LESS THAN 1 GM MARIJUANA RES IN CONSOLE OF VEHICLE (RETRIEVED WITH WHITE TAPE." We don't have any info on the circumstances (this guy might have rolled through a stop sign, but also might have been an axe murderer) or the results, but this 21-yr-old had a bit of cannabis residue which was so minuscule they needed to use a piece of tape to collect it. Lowest possible priority? Anyway, things you can do: 1) letter to the media/editor Every letter to the editor does at least two things: It represents a sample of public opinion to government leaders, figuring that for every one citizen who takes the time to write a letter, there are probably more than a hundred who feel the same way. Additionally, it publicizes the issue to the thousands of readers who might be unaware of it. http://www.missoulian.com/contact/ http://www.missoulanews.com/index.cfm?do=home.contact http://www.newwest.net/plain/contact/16/ 2) letter to city council and county commissioners These are the folks who run our fair city and county. While the initiative was a county instrument, support was strongest in the cit. Parts of Missoula expressed 80+% support for marijuana being the lowest possible priority! I swear you could get elected in some precincts running on a single issue platform - decriminalize pot. http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/citycouncil/ http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/mcbcc/ The city police chief and county sheriff report to these bodies. 3) Just talk to people you know about the issue. 4) Donate to Montana NORML :) http://montananorml.org/donate/ I have more to say but have to run. Thanks for your interest, John Masterson Montana NORML Montana NORML wrote: > The Community Oversight Committee formed by Initiative #2, which > recommended that adult marijuana activity be the lowest priority for law > enforcement, released its second report today. > > In short, despite a slight decrease in incidents reported by county > officials, busts by the Missoula Police Department skyrocketed. The > average bust size was 2 grams, or about one joint - just about every day. > > It seems that the lowest-priority recommendation of voters is being > mostly ignored. > > The full report is here: > > http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/initiative2/reports/ From norml at montananorml.org Fri Dec 19 21:13:34 2008 From: norml at montananorml.org (Montana NORML) Date: Fri Dec 19 21:14:18 2008 Subject: [Mtnorml-list] media coverage of I-2 report Message-ID: <494C70EE.1060005@montananorml.org> Friends, I thought you'd be interested to see some of the media coverage and subsequent comments regarding the recent release of the I-2 Community Oversight Committee's report. The report (which I helped to write) found that marijuana incidents as reported by law enforcement have become more frequent since the initiative's passage, and the entirety of that increase is due to incidents reported by the Missoula (city) Police Department. I encourage you read the full report here: http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/initiative2/reports/ And now for the media coverage (please also check out the comments from your neighbors): http://www.newwest.net/city/article/missoula_marijuana_busts_up_report_suggests/C8/L8/ http://www.missoulanews.com/index.cfm?do=article.details&id=467297F0-14D1-1357-9CD9EC1E3B24E7BF http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/12/10/bnews/br16.txt http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/12/11/news/local/news03.txt http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/12/19/letters/thu/thu98.txt Enjoy those links -- the comments are pretty spicy. Oh also, we set up a little Amazon mini-store on the Montana NORML home page (http://montananorml.org/); if you click on a book or movie there and buy it from Amazon, you send a few nickels our way to offset our costs, and we appreciate your support. Thanks as always, John Masterson Director, Montana NORML http://www.montananorml.org http://montananorml.org/donate/