Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement expect to file approximately 95,000 signatures with the Secretary of State tomorrow to freeze legislation recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Activists need only 49,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify the referendum for the 1998 ballot. Oregon voters will then have the opportunity to accept or reject the Legislature’s decision.
Referendum supporters said that the high number of signatures is significant. “To collect over 90,000 signatures in a matter of six weeks is astounding,” said co-chief petitioner Todd Olson. “The tremendous response to this effort shows that Oregonian voters have real questions and concerns about what the Legislature has done, and want a chance to make this decision for themselves.”
House Bill 3643, approved by the Legislature on July 2, increased the penalty for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana from a non-criminal “violation” to a class C misdemeanor crime. Under the new law — scheduled to take effect on October 4 — individuals would be arrested and, if convicted, could face 30 days in jail, loss of their driving privileges for six months, and have their property seized by law enforcement.
Upon signing the law, Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) said that H.B. 3643 “had less to do with the possession of marijuana as it does with expanding powers of search and seizure,” a position which he strongly favors, but a majority of state voters oppose. According to a state-wide poll conducted last summer, 58 percent of respondents said they were concerned that the new law would give police “too much authority to search the cars and homes of Oregon citizens.”
Michael Rose, also a chief petitioner for CSLE, said that the most important outcome of the referendum effort is that voters will have the opportunity to decide the issue directly. House Bill 3643 marked a departure from a policy that had been working since 1973, he said. “Before we start putting young people through the criminal justice system, Oregonians deserve the chance to take a long, hard look and make a sensible choice.”
State Representative Floyd Prozansky (D-Eugene) said that he supports reform efforts to prevent the enactment of H.B. 3643. “There is no evidence whatsoever that making the possession of small amounts of marijuana a crime will do anything to reduce its use,” he said.
For more information, please contact either Todd Olson of Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement or Keith Stroup of NORML at (202) 483-5500.