Published: Friday, March 16, 2012, 10:49 AM Updated: Friday, March 16, 2012, 11:26 AM
GRAND RAPIDS – Tami
VandenBerg said she does not use marijuana, but she’s cool with people
who do. So she does not want her tax dollars used to prosecute users of
the drug.
“It’s a poor use of my tax funds to be arresting and jailing people for marijuana,” said VandenBerg, owner of The Meanwhile bar and The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. “Our resources are so scarce right now in the city, we really need to prioritize.
“It’s really not the business of the city or the police department what kind of substances people are using.”
VandenBerg was one of about 15 people who showed up this morning for a press conference on Calder Plaza that kicked off a campaign to decriminalize marijuana use and possession in Grand Rapids. DecriminalizeGR hopes to collect about 6,500 signatures to put a city charter amendment on the ballot in November, during the presidential election.
In an effort to pre-empt enforcement of state and federal law that prohibits marijuana use, the amendment would make use of the drug a civil infraction, with fines ranging from $25 to $100. The proposal is modeled on an ordinance in Ann Arbor where marijuana use has been a civil infraction for decades, organizers said.
A similar ballot initiative is in the works in Detroit.
“If we don’t regulate marijuana, the state will do it for us,” said Jack Hoffman, legal counsel for the committee. “Ann Arbor’s a successful city by any measure and we’d do well to learn from Ann Arbor’s success.”
Former Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie was the first to sign the petition, organizers said. And among the people in attendance this morning was Kent County Commissioner Jim Talen, D-Grand Rapids, who questioned criminal penalties “for use of a drug that I’m not sure is that much different than other drugs that are legal.”
“It’s the public policy question: Do we legislate over the few
abusers that are out there?” Talen said. “It’s a good public
conversation to have.”
DecriminalizeGR says $1.4 million was spent in 2010 enforcing marijuana possession in Grand Rapids, and $1.2 million was spent jailing marijuana offenders. The city attorney’s office could not immediately verify numbers.
Michael Tuffelmire, DecriminalizeGR director, said “the use of marijuana is unhealthy.” But the ballot proposal “is a policy initiative” that makes financial sense for Grand Rapids.
“(Marijuana) is not going anywhere. We can’t curb it,” Tuffelmire said. “We’re spending a lot of money to stop minor marijuana violations. Current punishment does not fit the crime.”
Email Matt Vande Bunte, or follow him on Twitter.
“It’s a poor use of my tax funds to be arresting and jailing people for marijuana,” said VandenBerg, owner of The Meanwhile bar and The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. “Our resources are so scarce right now in the city, we really need to prioritize.
“It’s really not the business of the city or the police department what kind of substances people are using.”
VandenBerg was one of about 15 people who showed up this morning for a press conference on Calder Plaza that kicked off a campaign to decriminalize marijuana use and possession in Grand Rapids. DecriminalizeGR hopes to collect about 6,500 signatures to put a city charter amendment on the ballot in November, during the presidential election.
In an effort to pre-empt enforcement of state and federal law that prohibits marijuana use, the amendment would make use of the drug a civil infraction, with fines ranging from $25 to $100. The proposal is modeled on an ordinance in Ann Arbor where marijuana use has been a civil infraction for decades, organizers said.
A similar ballot initiative is in the works in Detroit.
“If we don’t regulate marijuana, the state will do it for us,” said Jack Hoffman, legal counsel for the committee. “Ann Arbor’s a successful city by any measure and we’d do well to learn from Ann Arbor’s success.”
Former Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie was the first to sign the petition, organizers said. And among the people in attendance this morning was Kent County Commissioner Jim Talen, D-Grand Rapids, who questioned criminal penalties “for use of a drug that I’m not sure is that much different than other drugs that are legal.”
DecriminalizeGR says $1.4 million was spent in 2010 enforcing marijuana possession in Grand Rapids, and $1.2 million was spent jailing marijuana offenders. The city attorney’s office could not immediately verify numbers.
Michael Tuffelmire, DecriminalizeGR director, said “the use of marijuana is unhealthy.” But the ballot proposal “is a policy initiative” that makes financial sense for Grand Rapids.
“(Marijuana) is not going anywhere. We can’t curb it,” Tuffelmire said. “We’re spending a lot of money to stop minor marijuana violations. Current punishment does not fit the crime.”
Email Matt Vande Bunte, or follow him on Twitter.
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