Marijuana sentencing reform urged
Marijuana sentencing reforms that would reduce penalties for possessing less than 7 ounces of the drug to fines of $10 to $25 and no jail time is on its way to a vote before the Columbus City Council on Monday.
About 40 people attended a hearing Thursday evening at City Hall, and only one person expressed any concerns about the proposal.
Everyone else — including pastors, teachers, coaches, parents and members of the black community — all applauded the measure. Many of them wanted council members to go even further and drop the penalty altogether, saying they’ve seen young lives set back by marijuana-possession convictions even as other states have legalized the drug.
“I don’t think you’re going far enough,” said Kevin St. Clair of Columbus, who predicted that police would still target black residents for car searches by claiming to smell marijuana.
But Lara Baker Morrish, solicitor general with the city attorney’s office, said eliminating the fine could open the city to having the law reversed on appeal,
based on Ohio case law that essentially holds that a crime without a penalty is invalid. Therefore, a legislative body must impose some penalty to protect against a legal challenge, Morrish advised.
And even if the penalty were zero, police could still use the odor of marijuana as a reason to detain people because possession of the drug is still a crime, Morrish said after the meeting. And if people don’t go to court because they believe there will be no penalty, they can get themselves into more legal trouble, she said.
The marijuana penalty reforms propose a penalty for being caught with up to 100 grams of $10; between 100 and 200 grams would cost $25. And unlike state law, a charge of possession of up to 200 grams would not come with possible jail time, under the first reading of the ordinance. Over 200 grams would still constitute a felony. Being caught with marijuana paraphernalia would also be a $10 fine, the proposed ordinance says.
Barbara Clark, 62, of the East Side, supports the proposal. But she worried that young people will get the wrong idea.
“When you tell them there’s no fine, no time, you’re saying ‘smoke all you want,’” Clark said. “I know marijuana is a gateway drug.”
But most of the crowd viewed marijuana more as a gateway conviction that could lead to further legal and financial problems, including loss of employment.
“We are not encouraging or sanctioning the use of drugs,” said Council President Shannon Hardin. He said marijuana legalization at the state level would be an even more fair solution, but the city can’t wait for Ohio lawmakers. Even if city council approves the legislation Monday, marijuana will still be illegal both at the state and federal levels, he said.
“We are just catching up with our residents in trying to fix an issue that I think that most residents, when you step back and look, see as unfair and see as outdated,” Hardin said.
The legislation the council will vote on Monday is expected to include a $120,000 grant to the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, a non-profit that provides legal assistance to economically disadvantaged people in central Ohio. The money would be used to provide a new staff position that would focus on helping people seal marijuana convictions, and to train other attorneys to also do so.