I'm sure his only option around the state law is to pass a city ordinance and then order the police agencies under his control to only enforce the city ordinance not the state law. Let's see, you can't have guns in Chicago because guns are evil and increase crime, but smoking dope is ok? I wonder if this will amount to a tax on dope? Does anyone think it will cut into the crime rate?
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...586256F23000A2F9A?OpenDocument&Headline=Daley's+hint+at+fining+pot+users+gets+noticed
Daley's hint at fining pot users gets noticed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/04/2004
CHICAGO - Mayor Richard Daley, a former prosecutor, runs the nation's third-largest city with a pragmatic, law-and-order style.
So when he starts complaining about the colossal waste of time and money involved in prosecuting small-time marijuana cases, people take notice.
"This is absolutely a big deal," said Andy Ko, director of the Drug Policy Reform Project for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state. "You've got a mayor in a major American city ... coming out in favor of a smart and fair and just drug policy."
What Daley did was to say late last month that a police sergeant was on to something when he suggested that it might be better to impose fines of $250 to $1,000 for possession of small amounts of marijuana rather than prosecute the cases.
Sgt. Thomas Donegan determined that nearly 7,000 cases involving 2.5 grams of pot or less were filed last year in Chicago. About 94 percent were dismissed.
Daley wondered whether ticketing offenders might be smarter. "If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out and we have police officers going (to court to testify in the cases), why?" the mayor said. "It costs a lot of money for police officers to go to court."
The way Daley's thoughts became public was also unusual: There was no public pressure for the mayor to speak out. He was asked by reporters who had heard of Donegan's findings and simply answered their questions.
Police officers are used to spending hours making arrests, writing reports and waiting around in court, only to see the charges dropped or a guilty plea that leads to nothing more than probation or drug education classes.
"While officers are doing everything to keep the streets safe, the offender gets arrested and is walking the street in just a few hours," Donegan wrote in his report. "To me, this is a slap in the face to the officers."
Chicago wouldn't be the first city to reduce the penalty for possessing a small amount of marijuana.
In Seattle, voters passed an initiative requiring law enforcement officials to make personal-use marijuana cases their lowest priority. In California and Oregon, possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 to $500 fine. In Colorado, it's a petty offense with a fine of no more than $100.
Chicago officials are a long way from making permanent changes. Police spokesman David Bayless said the department had yet to determine the accuracy of Donegan's report.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...586256F23000A2F9A?OpenDocument&Headline=Daley's+hint+at+fining+pot+users+gets+noticed
Daley's hint at fining pot users gets noticed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/04/2004
CHICAGO - Mayor Richard Daley, a former prosecutor, runs the nation's third-largest city with a pragmatic, law-and-order style.
So when he starts complaining about the colossal waste of time and money involved in prosecuting small-time marijuana cases, people take notice.
"This is absolutely a big deal," said Andy Ko, director of the Drug Policy Reform Project for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state. "You've got a mayor in a major American city ... coming out in favor of a smart and fair and just drug policy."
What Daley did was to say late last month that a police sergeant was on to something when he suggested that it might be better to impose fines of $250 to $1,000 for possession of small amounts of marijuana rather than prosecute the cases.
Sgt. Thomas Donegan determined that nearly 7,000 cases involving 2.5 grams of pot or less were filed last year in Chicago. About 94 percent were dismissed.
Daley wondered whether ticketing offenders might be smarter. "If 99 percent of the cases are thrown out and we have police officers going (to court to testify in the cases), why?" the mayor said. "It costs a lot of money for police officers to go to court."
The way Daley's thoughts became public was also unusual: There was no public pressure for the mayor to speak out. He was asked by reporters who had heard of Donegan's findings and simply answered their questions.
Police officers are used to spending hours making arrests, writing reports and waiting around in court, only to see the charges dropped or a guilty plea that leads to nothing more than probation or drug education classes.
"While officers are doing everything to keep the streets safe, the offender gets arrested and is walking the street in just a few hours," Donegan wrote in his report. "To me, this is a slap in the face to the officers."
Chicago wouldn't be the first city to reduce the penalty for possessing a small amount of marijuana.
In Seattle, voters passed an initiative requiring law enforcement officials to make personal-use marijuana cases their lowest priority. In California and Oregon, possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 to $500 fine. In Colorado, it's a petty offense with a fine of no more than $100.
Chicago officials are a long way from making permanent changes. Police spokesman David Bayless said the department had yet to determine the accuracy of Donegan's report.
