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Newsbrief:
U
Missouri
SSDP,
NORML
in
Marijuana
Petition
Drive
10/25/02
The University of Missouri
chapters of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) are leading a petition
drive in the college town of Columbia to have everyone busted with less
than 35 grams of marijuana sent to municipal instead of state court.
Punishment would be limited to small fines and would not result in a criminal
record -- thus sparing Columbia residents from the Higher Education Act's
anti-drug provision, which blocks financial aid to students convicted of
any drug offense.
According to the Columbia
Daily Tribune, a city ordinance passed in 1985 allows for marijuana possession
to be tried in municipal court, but does not require authorities to do
so. That was fine until 1997, when new Police Chief Norm Botsford
started sending most possession cases to state court. An uproar ensued,
and in 1999, city administrators and law enforcement officials announced
a new policy where cases involving five grams or less would go to municipal
court.
That wasn't good enough for
local attorney and national NORML board member Dan Viets, who circulated
a petition that year seeking to have all possession cases tried in municipal
court. That way, students could get around the financial aid law,
he told the Columbia Daily Tribune. That petition drive faltered,
but now the university SSDP and NORML chapters are behind the new drive,
initiated by Missouri law student and American Civil Liberties Union chapter
head Anthony Johnson. They have until mid-December to gather at least
1,191 signatures to place the measure on the April ballot.
-- END --
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Issue #260, 10/25/02
Antiprohibitionists Meet at European Parliament in Brussels | Vigilante Drug Bust in Arizona Opens Window into World of Hurt on Mexican Border | Election 2002:00:00 Governor's Races of Interest | Smoke Dope to Fight Chemical Warfare Attacks? Israeli Activists Say Check It Out | This Week's Cop Corruption Story: Two Texas Villarreals | Newsbrief: Federal Court Upholds Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients | Newsbrief: Bill to Ban Salvia Divinorum Introduced | Newsbrief: In Ecuador, Plan Colombia Foe Appears Headed for Presidency | Newsbrief: Feds to Prosecute Ayahuasca Case | Newsbrief: Baltimore Killings Bring More of the Same Old Policies | Newsbrief: Richmond, Virginia Drug Sweep Underway | Newsbrief: Massachusetts Reform Advocates Release Decrim Study as Elections Near | Newsbrief: Oklahoma Uses Civil Suits in War on Meth | Newsbrief: U Missouri SSDP, NORML in Marijuana Petition Drive | Newsbrief: Ontario Court Authorizes Crackdown on Marijuana Growers | Quote of the Week: William Raspberry | Web Scan: DRCNet in the Media, Dan Forbes on Alternet, VoteHemp, Change the Climate, Journey for Justice, Sydney Morning Herald | Job Opportunity: PreventionWorks, Washington, DC | Errata: Polling on San Francisco Proposition S | Calling on Students to Raise Your Voices for Repeal of the HEA Drug Provision | Action Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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