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A smarter penalty for marijuana
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Feb. 12, 2015 5:00 am
Back in the late 90s, when I started covering the Legislature, Iowa was in the midst of a get-tough era. Rarely did lawmakers see a harsh, flashy criminal penalty they didn't like.
At the height of the meth epidemic, lawmakers passed a 99-year sentence for dealing the drug to kids. A heinous crime, to be sure. But some legislative backers wanted to put up billboards at the borders touting the impressive penalty. Don't meth with Iowa, perhaps.
It was one among many drug penalty enhancements. The death penalty was an annual live round, although it failed to pass. Lawmakers barred many sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and day cares, putting whole towns off limits and, inadvertently, making it tough for law enforcement to keep track of sex offenders. Oops.
Unintended consequences be damned. This will look just dandy in a campaign brochure.
Don't get me wrong. Some tough criminal penalties are entirely appropriate. It's tough to feel much sympathy for a meth dealer or trafficker. The problem is sorting the appropriate from the political grandstand can be difficult. And many lawmakers didn't seem to care. I don't think it's any surprise Iowa built three new prisons during the 90s.
So given what I've seen, I think what the Senate Judiciary Committee did this week is noteworthy. On Tuesday, the committee voted 13-1 for a bill that would reduce the penalty for first-offense possession of less than five grams of marijuana, from a serious to a simple misdemeanor. Republicans and Democrats supported the measure.
Now, I know, folks out there chanting 'legalize it” won't think much of this move. Not enough. But, trust me, it's significant. Every time lawmakers step up and get smarter about criminal penalties, it's significant. And too rare.
A simple misdemeanor is a minor offense. It usually means showing up in court and paying a fine. That's far more appropriate for possession of a small amount of pot than a serious misdemeanor, which means getting booked, hiring a lawyer and possibly jail time. We're talking about a small handful of weed, at the most. And as Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center and a deputy sheriff, said, probably more like 'pipe scrapings.”
It turns out some lawmakers were actually listening to Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady when he asked them to do something about nagging racial disparities in criminal sentencing. A 2013 ACLU study found that blacks are more than 8 times more likely to be arrested for pot possession than whites, even though use rates are roughly similar. As Cady pointed out, Iowa's overall incarceration rate of adult black males, 9.4 percent, is the nation's third-highest.
Personally, I'd support making small-time possession the non-criminal equivalent of a traffic ticket. But I also understand how the Legislature works. Small victories first. Although I have doubts even this modest bill will make it to the governor's desk.
But 13-1 means a broader cross-section of lawmakers beyond the usual sentencing reform suspects are interested in creating punishments that better fit crimes. Maybe we're in a get-smart era.
l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com.
A marijuana starter plant is for sale at a medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle, Washington, in this November 20, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Anthony Bolante
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